Happily Ever After
by loverofeevee
Summary: Somewhat OC...ok a lot OC. Little Harry isn't happy at the Dursleys, but luckily for him he's taken in by a nicer family. This is their story. Has abuse of children and mpreg.
1. Chapter 1

Happily Ever After

Jenny Marlik was the kind of person who loved to help people. Directing them, informing them, talking and sympathising with them. She was proud to be a receptionist for the local hospital. And she was well on her way in her studies to becoming a nurse. Simply put, Jenny was a people person. So when a small battered looking boy crept inside the front door, a gurgling bundle in his arms, Jenny's heart broke.

He summoned up all his nerves and slowly walked through the doors. His eyes darted from side to side and he held the little newborn closer. He was cold, dirty, hurt, scared and hungry. And the baby had been whimpering for food for a while now. The ratty stained blanket he'd tucked round her was no real protection from the weather, nor was the old robe that he'd wrapped round his own naked body. He needed help, but suddenly he was unsure if he wanted it. This place was huge, and there were far too many people staring at him. He shook his head and closed his eyes, taking a big breath. His little girl needed help. He looked towards the big desk and started walking towards it. The woman behind it met him half way.

'Hello there, my name is Jenny'.

He stared as she knelt down to his level and gave him a smile. Giving a quick glance to the baby he made a decision.

'I need some help please' he whispered.

Jenny's heart was aching at the display of bravery. She carefully stood up and nodded.

'I'll call a nurse for you. Why don't you come and sit with me until one arrives. You can tell me who this little one is and where you came from'.

She waited patiently as he thought about it, then smiled as he nodded and followed her behind the desk, where she offered him a comfy seat. Around her people were giving the little boy looks of horror, shock and pity. Another member of staff quickly rushed off and came back a few minutes later with a bottle of warm milk for the baby and a cup for the boy. Jenny offered to feed the tiny girl but the boy shook his head and carefully positioned the baby and held the bottle to her lips. She drank greedily.

'So then sweetie, who might this little cutie be?' Jenny asked as one of her colleagues offered to call a nurse. The baby wasn't properly positioned and the boy was a little unsure, but she was impressed at him taking on the responsibility for the little one. She gave him some advice on how to feed a baby and he seemed to eagerly listen and do as she said.

He squirmed slightly. He didn't think anyone would believe him if he said _he_ was the one to give birth to the child barely a day ago. For one thing he was only ten years old, and a boy. So before he came in, he'd made up a story.

'A lady…there…there was screaming and there was blood and the baby came out. The lady fell asleep and I tried to wake her up but I couldn't. I…I had to leave her' he whispered.

Those who heard the boy had to look away as they wiped their eyes. Jenny included.

'I see. Do you know where you were when you were with this lady?'

He whimpered.

'Bad men. Daddy gave me to a bad man and he hurt me in his bedroom. Then he moved me to a dirty room and let other people hurt me. I told them to stop but they didn't' he whispered.

Jenny heart froze. Hurt him in a bedroom! Good lord please don't say they raped the boy! And his father gave the boy to the men!

'What is your name sweetie? And what age are you?'

He blushed slightly and looked away, concentrating on his baby.

'T…ten, I think, and I don't have a name'.

His parents didn't want him, told him he was a mistake, already had his older brother as an heir, so why should they want to care enough to give him a name? He didn't really understand what they meant, couldn't understand why the man he should have called dad kept telling his mum that it was her fault, and that if she hadn't been such a wanderer this would never have happened. He only knew his age because he overheard them talking about him, about how they should just be rid of him.

When he was younger, for a short time, he had thought his name was It. They always called him It. Dipsy take It away from here! It is in the room again, Dipsy remove It! Dipsy was the House Elf that served the family. The Elf said he was a nuisance, always was. Only when he started teaching himself to read did he realise It wasn't a real name. The man, or Lord Voldemort, as he liked to call himself, called him Whore, Slut or Boy. Most of the men called him the same. The woman, Bellatrix, liked to call him Little Kitty when she tortured him. The only person who didn't hurt him, or call him bad names, was a man called Severus. Voldemort always called in Severus to heal the Boy if they'd been too rough. No one realised that he had a baby growing inside him, not even him. Not until the night where he gave birth. He thought he was dying. He was telling the truth when he said there was screaming and lots of blood. But when the baby finally came out, when he realised it was a baby that was causing the cramps for all those months, something inside him snapped. He just knew his daughter would be killed if they stayed. That thought gave his magic the strength it needed to break the chain around his neck and heal him enough to get up. He'd picked up his baby, grabbed the blanket and pulled at the door until, surprisingly, it opened. He crept through the house until he found a way out and, stealing a robe, he rushed out the door and ran. He passed a sort of shield around the house, a ward, but it didn't stop him. Neither did the sound of the people who'd woken up in the house. He ran and ran and ran, ignoring his own blinding pain and that he was dripping blood from giving birth. He ran until he reached a muggle town, and the hospital within it.

Jenny's reply was interrupted by a nurse arriving. A few weeks later the little boy, who they'd named Julian due to his vivid jewel like turquoise eyes, and the little girl he'd named Evangeline, because she was his little angel, were healed and placed into a foster home, which barely a month later became their new home.

An investigation was launched to find out where the children had come from. A couple of eagle eyed, magic born detectives who'd spoken with the boy had realised he was unconsciously using magic to help his healing, and thus had discreetly taken their search to the wizarding world. A bit of pressing revealed the boy, on a few rare occasions, was forced to call his parents Master and Lady Heartright. A search into the names found that the two, and their eldest son, had been killed a few years prior, and the rumour was they had been deatheaters. A bit more pressing had Julian tell them that both his parents handed him to You-Know-Who. Upon realising that it was the Dark Lord himself that abused the boy, the detectives had the case dropped. Julian was sadly just another victim of You-Know-Who and his deatheaters, and there was little they could do about it except add it to the ever growing pile of cases caused by the Dark Lord.

They couldn't find a thing about the woman who died giving birth. Eventually they were forced to drop the case entirely.

Jenny smiled behind her desk. Mr and Mrs Meadow seemed the perfect couple to adopt the little boy and the baby who had wormed their way into the hearts of everyone in the hospital.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

To those around them, Mr and Mrs Meadow represented the perfect couple to raise children. They were in their late fifties, with very lovable and homely personalities. They got on well with all their neighbours and would happily lend a hand if it was needed. Jonathan Meadow was a tall man with a thick crop of brown hair, lightly scattered with grey. He was a mild tempered man, always smiling. Children loved him and he always kept a bag of sweets in his pocket. He was quite a strong man, a smart one too. At his age he didn't have a job per say, but people called him a jack of all trades. If someone needed help with the plumbing, or with tiling, you could bet he'd be there. Underneath his friendly appearance was a sneaky side. His warm but calculating eyes never missed a trick. There was only one secret he kept from his neighbours. Jonathan was a wizard. A muggleborn to be precise. When he finished his schooling, he found that the wizarding world was not all that accepting of a muggleborn trying to take the place of a pureblood. So he chose to leave that world behind and make himself a new life in the muggle world. He started working in a detective agency, and his magic helped greatly with cases. It was on one such case that he met his wife Rose. Give her a poison sample and she could work out what it did and how long it took to kill.

Rose Meadow was a short, slightly pudgy woman with curly blonde grey hair. Where her husband was the one to allow children to go wild in the park, she was the one ready with a hug and a cookie after a long day of play. Of course she wasn't a pushover, and could easily dish out discipline when it was needed. When the couple found out they couldn't have children of their own, even with the help of potions, she was the one to come up with the idea of fostering. And being the good husband he was, Jonathan agreed. Rose was a squib, abandoned when her family found out and raised in an orphanage. However she kept in touch with the wizarding world and soon took an interest in potions, as it was one of the few subjects she could do without needing magic. Her interest soon became a hobby, and then a career when she managed to achieve her mastery. She always thought of it as amusing that so many purebloods owl ordered potions from her. If only they knew. And muggles hired her to help when it came to crimes with strange or unknown substances. She made a nice living off her work, enough for her and her husband to enjoy a good life with a few luxuries.

Over the years the Meadows had fostered many children, each growing to be happy and well adjusted adults. The neighbours agreed though that the lovely little boy and his now adorable little sister were the cutest, sweetest children they had ever seen. The story of how the two were found broke the hearts of all who heard, and each hoped the monsters that had hurt the children were locked up for life. Young Julian was shy and quiet, but always polite and very intelligent. A small cascade of hazel brown hair fell down over the shoulders of his rather petit frame. Those vivid eyes of his had a way of reading people that many would give up their right leg for.

Julian had a passion for both animals and art. If ever there was an animal in need, Julian would be there, and his pictures, while childish, held an element of magic to them. He never yelled or screamed or lashed out, which did cause him to become the target of bullies. However since he had lived with Voldemort and his deatheaters, a few children calling him names never bothered him. Julian was given the choice between magic and muggle school and, still wary of being recognised in the magical world, decided on going to a muggle school.

Julian's world though was his "sister" Evangeline. With waves of curly black hair, slightly pale skin and the same turquoise eyes as Julian, she made for a perfect little sweetheart. When Julian wasn't at school he would change her nappies, feed her, play with her and sing her to sleep. When she grew into a playful smiling little toddler, he would take her for walks to the park and toss a ball back and forth with her. He never frowned at her, or spoke to her harshly. He always kept an eye on her. The neighbours jokingly said that the Meadows were getting rusty if a child was being more responsible than them. It was all in jest, and the couple were proud of their adoptive son.

Of course Rose and Jonathan knew the truth about Evangeline. They managed to get the whole story from Julian, after he found out they were of magic descent. They were happy for Evangeline to call them granny and grampa, and to call Julian daddy. They also knew that both of Julian's parents made the decision to hand him to Tom Riddle. It pained them to know someone had hurt their son enough to get him pregnant.

It was very rare for a wizard to get pregnant. Normally it was the result of some form of creature blood. The mystery was solved when Rose brewed an ancestry potion. As it turned out, Julian had traces of a few creature types, enough that he must have inherited one of their abilities to fall pregnant.

He was also part Demon.

The Meadows couldn't believe their eyes, but there it was. At first they were worried. Demons lived up to their reputation after all, not even magic people liked to confront them, so having a child with Demon blood was distressing.

It also made them curious. Demons were powerful, but what powers would a part Demon have? They certainly weren't prepared for it, so it was left to research everything they could about Demons and what they could and couldn't do, and if there were any records of anyone having Demonic powers.

It took time, but they managed to find enough to learn that emotions were a big part of it, mainly negative emotions. Being scared was unlikely to trigger Demon magic, but being angry certainly would, and Julian had never been angry before. Annoyed at times before he'd been given to Voldemort, but not angry. The Meadows realised that they would have to watch their new son carefully, ensuring he had an outlet for any anger that might manifest. If his Demon magic was let loose, regardless of how little, he would be in danger.

As it turned out, they had nothing to worry about. When Evangeline was a year old, there had been an incident at school where an older boy had called Julian something truly horrible. For an abused child who believed himself a whore for years, being called a slut for looking like a girl caused the dam not just to crack but to shatter.

Julian couldn't have told the Meadows what happened next, but he could remember getting so angry that he desperately wanted to leave before he did something really bad. From the school report, apparently he had simply stood there, and glared. The bully swore that his eyes glowed black, and had screamed and run into the building where he grabbed the nearest teacher and told her in a blubbering voice that there was a monster after him. By the time she had found Julian, his eyes were back to normal but he was still angry. Realising something must be seriously wrong if such a sweet child was so angry, she gently led him inside and called Jonathan, who rushed over to bring him home. Unfortunately, they passed the bully, who now felt confident enough to call out a parting shot. He high tailed it before Jonathan could check him, but the damage had been done. Julian had barely made it inside the house before the Demon made itself known. The Meadows were understandably shocked to see his eyes turn black and start bleeding, while his skin went deathly pale, teeth and nails turned pointed and needle sharp wings ripped out from his back. They backed off as he snarled and growled, his magic lashing out around him.

Little Evangeline though wasn't the slightest bit concerned. This was her daddy and he was home to play with her, so, ignoring Rose's panicked cry and ducking past grabbing arms, over she toddled to give daddy a hug and tell him in her baby garbles about her fun filled day playing in the sandbox and getting a cookie from granny Rose. Jonathan and Rose couldn't have been more flabbergasted, and relieved, when Demon Julian immediately ceased his growling and crouched by her, sniffing her a bit before identifying her as his and picking her up, keeping his wings and claws from harming his little girl. After a few minutes watched them, Jonathan eventually worked up the courage and spoke to his son. He got a few low growls, but beyond that the Demon didn't seem all that bothered. Julian didn't appear to be able to talk in this form, but after a while he calmed and responded with a purr like noise. He knew these people, they were nice, they were part of his nest.

Jonathan crept forward a little more, and after a moment of wariness, reached out to touch his son's shoulder. He sighed in relief when it was allowed, and soon Rose felt confident enough to come forward as well. After around half an hour of gentle words and careful touches, Julian felt calm enough that he was able to change back, exhausted but feeling better.

And that was that. It appeared that as long as Evangeline was around, Demon Julian was nothing to fear. After that the couple stopped bothering about the Demon blood. In place of breathing exercises and writing his thoughts down, which clearly wasn't working against Demon magic, the boy was taken to a martial arts class during the weekend to give him an outlet, and he took to it like a duck to water. Soon he needed other things to do to stop him practicing night and day. By the time Evangeline was three years old, she was joining her daddy in martial arts, music, art, cooking, arts and crafts, sports, gardening and anything else that took their fancy. The two were also given teachings on simple magic, theory and potions.

Evangeline had performed her first act of accidental magic when she was one and a half, making the plate of cookies come to her when granny wasn't looking. Realising they now had two magic using children in the house, Jonathan decided to take Julian out to get his own wand and placed a ward around the house that allowed Julian to practice spells. He in turn would, with Jonathan's help, teach Evangeline. Everything the two were taught they soaked up like a sponge.

The Meadow family were happy with their lives. And it was only going to get more interesting from there with the unexpected new arrival to the family.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Harry sat against a tree while he caught his breath. The Dursleys didn't want the freak staying in the house while Vernon was having very important guests over, so he was thrown out. At first Harry didn't mind, it was a nice day and it meant he didn't have to do any chores. But then Dudley came out and started hitting him and he had to run. He made it to the nearby park before deciding it was safe to stop. Panting slightly Harry looked round the park. There were a few people around, a lady with a pram, a man walking his dog, and a boy with a little girl by the swings. He watched for a while as the boy pushed the laughing girl back and forth. He wished he had someone to play with, someone who didn't think he was a bad boy. As if his wish came true, the girl glanced in his direction. She got the boy to stop the swing and she jumped off, running over.

'Hi! I'm Evangeline'.

Harry started. No one had ever wanted to talk to him before. He mumbled a hello as the older boy came over. The girl, Evangeline held out her hand.

'Want to play with us? Daddy can push you on the swing'.

Harry looked at her hand, then glanced up at the older boy. He was sure the boy wouldn't want a freak playing with the girl. And neither would the girl's daddy, who he couldn't see anywhere. But to his surprise the boy smiled and nodded.

'Do you want to play with us?'

Harry's mouth fell open. He didn't dare hope that they actually wanted to play with him! But Evangeline kept her hand out and the older boy was still smiling. So, nervously, Harry placed his hand in the girl's, and she led him over to the swings. As she sat on one she started speaking.

'Daddy always pushes me high on the swings. His name's Julian and he's the best daddy in the world!'

She had pointed to the older boy when she said the name, who tickled her gently with a grin. Harry watched as she laughed. The older boy was her daddy? Harry didn't know much about mummies and daddies, but the boy didn't look old enough to be a daddy.

'Do you want me to push you?'

He started and looked at Mr Julian, who was waiting by the second swing. Chewing his lip Harry went over and sat down. He held onto the chains and jumped when Mr Julian began to push him gently. Looking over he saw Evangeline smiling at him as she kicked her legs out to swing herself. As he went back and forth Harry couldn't help but start smiling and giggling. This was fun! He squealed a bit when he was pushed a little higher, and laughed. Mr Julian was nice he decided. They played on the swings for a while, then went to the chute and took turns laughing and sliding down. Even Mr Julian had a few turns. Harry was really enjoying himself, these people didn't seem to care that he was a freak. He didn't notice that Julian was giving him thoughtful looks. The older boy saw the baggy tattered clothes, saw the bruises peeking out from underneath the shirt collar. He knew the tiny boy didn't have a good life.

'Grampa!' Evangeline squealed and jumped off the chute. Harry watched as she ran over and jumped into the arms of a tall man.

'Hello little Eve. Having fun are we?' Jonathan laughed.

His granddaughter nodded and took his hand, pulling him over to the chute.

'Grampa we made a friend!' she exclaimed and looked at Harry.

Jonathan looked at the little boy, and felt a pang of sadness. Clearly this one was being mistreated. He glanced at Julian who gave a small nod.

'Well then, it's nice to meet you young man. What might your name be?'

He knelt and held out his hand. The boy looked around the same age as Evangeline, and was very nervous. Harry flinched as the man knelt down. He looked at Evangeline who was smiling, and glanced up at Mr Julian who put a hand on his shoulder. With that support Harry felt brave enough to take the man's hand.

'Hello. I'm Boy Freak' he said quietly.

Jonathan hid his surprise, and his anger. He glanced up quickly to check his son, and found Julian taking deep breaths to calm his own anger. Good.

'Well then, thank you for keeping an eye on my son and granddaughter'.

He winked at Harry and lowered his voice to a whisper.

'They like to get up to mischief'.

'Grampa!' Evangeline protested, wrapping her hands round his shoulders.

Jonathan laughed and picked her up.

'Well you do get into mischief'.

She giggled as he lifted her high and Harry couldn't help but let out a small smile.

'Well, my job's done for the day. Why don't we head home? I'll bet there will be cookies waiting for us'.

He looked at Harry as Evangeline cheered.

'Would you like to come with us? I bet my wife will have some cookies just for you'.

Harry gasped. They actually wanted him to come home with them and have cookies! He'd never had cookies before. Dudley always got cookies and chocolate but his aunt and uncle never allowed him to have any. He fidgeted with his oversized shirt. He really wanted to go, but he was scared they would realise just how much of a freak he was. He jumped when a hand ruffled his hair, and glanced up at Mr Julian.

'Will you come with us?'

The older boy's eyes seemed to see right into his soul. They were warm and friendly and soothing, and made Harry feel warm and comforted and safe. Harry thought for a moment. Who knows when the Dursleys would let him back into the house. He nodded and took Julian's offered hand.

OOO

'Granny! We're home!'

Rose smiled as her granddaughter came running through for a hug. Since she started walking that girl could never stay still. Her smile faded a little when her husband and son followed with a tiny bruised boy. Jonathan gave her a look and the smile came back full force.

'Well now I see we have a guest. Did you make a new friend Evangeline?'

Her granddaughter nodded and took Harry's hand, leading the boy to the table where they sat down, Harry a little hesitantly. Julian gave his mother a small smile and followed.

'Well I guess it's lucky I made extra cookies' Rose said, patting her son on the shoulder as she went to the oven. She came back with a plate of warm white chocolate chip cookies and placed it on the table. She handed one to Evangeline, and held one out for Harry.

'Here you go sweetie, nice and fresh'.

It smelled really yummy, and Harry's stomach growled. It had been a while since his last meal. Hesitantly he reached out and took the offered cookie.

'Thank you' he whispered, holding it close to him.

He looked at Evangeline who was smiling as she munched away, a few crumbs on her cheeks. Glancing down he broke off a small piece and put it in his mouth. It tasted really, really yummy and soon he was happily munching away. Rose smiled sadly as the tiny boy hummed in delight. She got out some milk from the fridge and poured three cups while her husband made the couple some tea. She sat down and placed the cups beside the children. The boy looked at her with such awe that her heart felt like breaking. She watched as he slowly reached out and picked up the cup, taking a small sip. The sheer delight on his face made her smile. Glancing at her husband they shared a silent conversation. This boy needed a loving home.

'So sweetie. Who looks after you?'

Harry looked up from his milk.

'My aunt and uncle'.

'Do you know their names?' Jonathan asked.

Harry gave a small nod.

'Aunt P'tunia and uncle Vernon. And my cousin Dudley'.

'Vernon and Petunia. I recognise those names. The Dursleys aren't they? They live on Privet Drive?' Rose asked her husband.

'Yes I believe they do. If I'm right it's number four. That's a long way for a little boy to come from. What age are you lad?' Jonathan asked.

Harry was starting to feel more comfortable around these people. They seemed to emit a soothing feeling.

'Three'.

'Is that so? That's the same age as our Evangeline' Jonathan said with a smile towards his granddaughter.

'My birthday's in June. And so's my daddy's. Daddy's ten years older than me' Evangeline piped up, holding up all ten fingers.

'Wouldn't your aunt and uncle be worried about you?' Rose asked, already knowing the likely answer.

'They had im-por-tant people over and I was in the way. They put me outside cause I was a freak and shut the door' Harry replied quietly, sounding out the word important.

He missed the dark look the couple shared. He missed the slight flash of black in Julian's eyes.

'They shouldn't call you a freak. That's a bad word and you're not bad' Evangeline scolded.

Her grandparents gave a smile at that.

Julian watched his daughter and the boy talk. His father had told him all about Harry Potter and the tragic events that led to the deaths of his parents. The lightning bolt shaped scar peeked out from under the boy's hair and made Julian think. This boy was supposed to be the saviour of the wizarding world, and here he was wearing clothes that hung off his tiny frame and showing signs of abuse and starvation, not even knowing his name. It wasn't right.

'Hey, you want to come up to my room and play?' Evangeline asked.

Harry glanced at the adults, then gave a small smile.

'Yes please'.

The three watched as Evangeline led him up to her room, talking away about what they could play with. Jonathan stood up to wash the dishes when Julian beat him to it.

'He's Harry Potter, isn't he?'

The two looked surprised as their son stood at the sink. Jonathan sighed, he'd seen the scar as well.

'Yes'.

He and his wife shared a look.

'It looks like we'll be having a chat with Juliet. We can't let that boy go back to people who will hurt him'.

He was rewarded with a smile from Julian. Smiling back Jonathan went to call the care worker. Juliet Parker was the best in the business. If anyone could take Harry away from an abusive household, it was her.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Juliet Parker was an intelligent woman. She knew all the tricks of her trade and could spot a sign of abuse a mile away. She could also spot when children were faking it. This little boy, one Harry Potter as she was told by Jonathan Meadow, was, to her horror, certainly not faking it. Juliet was a witch, a half blood, and her position as care worker worked in both the muggle and magical world. She of course knew about Harry Potter. But this wasn't about fame. This was about a little boy who needed a good home. Which was why, not an hour after meeting the lad, that she, Jonathan, Julian and Harry found themselves outside number four Privet Drive. And unfortunately, for him, it was Vernon who answered.

'Yes, how can I help yo…YOU!'

The man seemed ready to start a rant when he spotted his nephew, but then pulled himself together. Juliet noticed and gave a discreet nod to Jonathan. They would play this out as a friendly invite for Harry to come over and play with Evangeline, and see where it took them. Jonathan caught the nod, and had been in the detective business long enough to know his cue.

'Has this _boy_ been bothering you? I'll be sure to give him a talking to'.

Jonathan stepped in his path when he made to reach for the child.

'He hasn't bothered us at all. In fact he's been very polite. I should introduce myself. My name is Jonathan Meadow, I live a little ways away from here. I'm actually here to ask if the lad could stay over at my home. My granddaughter you see has grown very attached to him, and asked if he could stay for a while. He's quite shy though and wouldn't give his name, and I wouldn't want to keep calling him lad' Jonathan replied with a look.

Vernon stared as he worked out what this man wanted from him. When he figured it out he gave what he thought was a charming smile.

'Ah right, well can't have that now can we? The boy's name is…'

He paused. Blast what was the freak's name? It began with P didn't it? No wait that was his second name. Wait it was H it started with. Ha…Harold? No. Harry that was it!'

'…Harry. Yes that's the boy's name'.

He gave a quick glare to the freak when he opened his mouth to protest.

'Harry. Well that's a fine name isn't it?' Jonathan said, smiling down at the boy.

Harry was too busy hiding behind Julian to smile back.

'Well now would it be ok if young Harry were to stay with me for a while?' Jonathan then asked.

Vernon gave a look to the others with the man. The woman looked young, wife or daughter. The other one was younger still. This was possibly the cutest most delectable little girl he'd ever seen Vernon thought as he leered at her.

'Why not. Perhaps you'd like to come inside while the fre…while Harry gets his things?'

He stood to the side and waved them in, hands twitching to reach out as the girl passed. He led them into the living room, where Petunia was fussing away at a whiny Dudley.

'This is my lovely wife Petunia, and my dashing son Dudley' Vernon introduced proudly.

Jonathan and Juliet both didn't quite agree with the comments, as they watched the fat boy rip apart a book and push his mum, while Petunia just smiled and handed him another thing to destroy. Julian was pointedly ignoring the pair, scanning the house and picking up little clues, such as the lack of pictures of Harry.

'Boy go and get your things. Would any of you care for some tea?' Vernon asked, the chair groaning as he lowered himself down.

Jonathan waved him off.

'No that's quite alright. Harry would you like some help getting your things?'

Harry chewed his lip and glanced at Vernon, who was beginning to turn red round the edges as he realised the man would see the cupboard and not knowing what to do or say to stop it. Harry knew the signs of Mount Vernon and nodded, quickly leading Jonathan out the door.

'Excuse me, might I use your bathroom?' Juliet asked as they left. Jonathan had his job, she had hers, and she'd been told that Julian could take care of himself. She knew about the martial arts, though the Meadows hadn't meant that when they reassured her about the older boy coming with them.

Vernon pointed out the way and she thanked him and left, discretely taking out a small camera from her pocket. That left the Dursleys with Julian.

'Pet I could use some tea' Vernon said, eyeing up the girl.

'I'll make us both some, and get Duddykins some milk' his wife replied and picked up her son, leaving the room.

Wasting no time, Vernon heaved himself out of the chair.

'You're a pretty thing ain't you?'

The girl just stared at him from her spot beside the window.

'A real pretty girl. You look like you'd be good for a babysitter for my Duddy'.

And then there would be plenty of opportunities to have the girl alone. He reached out to touch her hair, only to back off in shock when her eyes glowed black for a few moments.

'I'm not interested sir. And I'm not a girl. I don't appreciate you undressing me with your eyes' Julian said quietly but coldly. His eyes flashed, almost like black fire, making Vernon stumble back.

'Y…you're one of _them_! You're a FREAK!' he stammered.

Julian growled quietly.

'And you are a man who wanted to touch me. I should tell you that I am thirteen years old, but I suppose that wouldn't bother you. Just like it didn't bother you when you hurt your nephew'.

'NOW SEE HERE…!' Vernon bellowed.

He shrunk back as black flames licked up around the boy. The others ran back in hearing the yelling.

'You won't need to bother about Harry again. He will never come back here' Julian hissed.

Jonathan knew his son could control his Demon magic better now, but it was clear he was close to turning full Demon on them, so stepped in. He'd talk with Julian afterwards. It had to be something serious to really set Demon off.

'Well I think we have everything we need. Come on Julian, Harry. Let's head home. Miss Parker?'

'I've got all I need as well' she replied, holding up her camera and her care worker badge. Ignoring the magic burst, thankfully passing it off as accidental magic, she turned and gave a glare to the now pale Dursleys.

'A cupboard? Is that how you treat a little boy? I quite agree with young Julian, you won't be seeing your nephew again. Not if I can help it'.

She and Jonathan herded the children out the house. She turned back as Vernon made to argue. Petunia just looked on pale faced.

'Oh and expect a visit from the authorities. We're not finished with you'.

A few days later, and with a little magic to push things along, Harry had been permanently adopted into the Meadow family. It was a pale Vernon who quickly signed the papers presented by Juliet, flanked by two officers who were waiting to escort the man away for child abuse and neglect. They also wished to speak with him regarding Julian's accusations, something Jonathan pushed for when he found out.

Harry's new name, that he himself chose because he liked the sound of it, was Ebony Meadow. Evangeline was ecstatic to have a new brother, and Ebony was just as happy to be with a family who loved him.

OOO

Jonathan was a man on a mission. From the moment the papers were signed, he'd been out digging up as much as he could about Harry Potter. His contacts came through with a wealth of information. Born from muggleborn Lily Evans and pureblood James Potter. Both set of grandparents dead along with the parents. Stuff just about everyone knew. Only direct relatives alive were Petunia, Vernon and Dudley. His parent's Will was sealed following their deaths by one Albus Dumbledore who made himself Harry Potter's magical guardian. That of course was changed to the Meadows upon Harry's adoption. Why the Will was sealed was a mystery, but Jonathan after explaining himself and the situation to the Goblins at Gringotts, was able to obtain a copy. It mentioned that Harry Potter was supposed to go to his godfather, one Sirius Black. If not Black then to the Longbottom family, the Tonks family or a magical orphanage. The Dursleys weren't mentioned at all as a possible guardian, yet he found from Juliet that they were being paid to look after their nephew from the Potter vaults. She assured him this money would be collected and given back as clearly the Dursleys were using it for their own purposes. She also assured him that the Potter assets and money would be made available to Ebony once he turned of age.

Jonathan's next step was to get information on this Sirius Black. He knew the man was in Azkaban for betraying the Potters to Voldemort, but he wanted every loophole covered encase someone tried to take Ebony away from them. His findings surprised him. Black wasn't given a trial. It could be nothing, after all the wizarding world was in chaos after the Potter's deaths, with everyone celebrating the death of Voldemort. But a trial should be given to every witch or wizard to prove for absolutely certain that they were guilty of their crime.

Albus Dumbledore's actions in all this made Jonathan think. The man sealed the Wills, which he signed as a witness so he obviously knew what they said about guardianship. He then ignored them entirely and sent Harry Potter to the Dursleys. And from listening to Petunia's rant to the police, the one year old was left on their doorstep in the middle of the night with nothing but a letter to explain why he was there. No knocking on the door or explaining everything in person, no checking up on the boy. He could have just toddled away and no one would be the wiser. He also could have caught a cold or even pneumonia. These weren't the actions of a leader of the light.

With Vernon in custody, Petunia under investigation and Dudley with Vernon's sister Marge, Juliet had asked a team to check for any wards on the house. They weren't told anything about Harry Potter, just that a muggle family had been taking care of a magical child. For all intent purposes the wards were fine. Monitoring charms for health, which should have gone off like crazy since the boy was there, and wards to keep out those with ill intent. There was also a blood ward around the property. Blood magic was illegal for a reason, and when they examined it further the team were angered to find that it was drawing power directly from the one it was cast upon. This meant Harry Potter spent two years being abused _and_ having his magic drained from him. And there was lingering magic which implied Albus Dumbledore was the one to cast the wards.

Jonathan explained all this to Julian and asked if Demon would be able to break the magic around Ebony. Julian agreed. Together they sat Ebony down and explained to him what Julian was and that Demon was going to help him. Ebony was understandably scared, but with Evangeline and his new grandparents sitting beside him he nervously agreed to let Demon look at him. When Julian changed Ebony shrank back against the couch with a scream. He was encouraged to calm down by Evangeline, who said that her daddy wouldn't hurt anyone, and even though he looked scary he was just a big softy. She proved it by scooting over and hugging Demon. Ebony was still nervous so Jonathan suggested that he be given something to put him asleep while Demon checked him. With the whole family there Ebony felt a little better and drank a dreamless sleep potion. It was a good thing, as he would have been screaming in pain from Demon removing the dark magic if he weren't out cold.

When Demon changed back, a panting Julian explained angrily that there was a piece of Voldemort's soul in Ebony's scar. Demon had been able to remove it, though it had been a struggle. It was almost as if he had been attacked from several bits of soul, rather than just one. He had taken note that the other pieces seemed to come not from Harry but elsewhere, before pushing that information away and destroying the fragment he had. Well, he'd actually eaten it, it had tasted horrible, but Julian wasn't planning on telling his parents that. He'd also done what he was supposed to do and removed any magic traces on Ebony.

Rose had clocked what this meant in regards to Voldemort, and explained it to her increasingly horrified son and husband. Horcruxes, something used to split a person's soul and seal it away. It was supposed to be a way of living forever. It was also supposed to be impossible to do more than once. Demon, being who he was, was able to determine just how much soul was in Harry's scar, and it wasn't much. If a person split their soul once then they were left with half a soul. Split it again and they had a quarter. That alone was enough to drive a person insane, but the sliver Demon had eaten was even less than that, meaning Voldemort had done this more than twice.

Julian now realised why Voldemort always bragged about being immortal, in a sense he was if he made these abominations. Though considering how foolish it would be to place your soul in another person, Ebony's scar must have been done accidentally, if that was even possible. Thankfully with Demon they had a relatively easy way to destroy them. And, as Julian explained, they also had some leads as to where the others were.

Of course they still had no idea what and exactly where they were. The Meadows wanted to bring this information to the authorities, but Julian told them it was best word didn't get around. If people knew about the horcruxes it would send them into a panic when they realised Voldemort was still alive. It would also throw the Meadows into the spotlight if they told others, which they didn't want as it would mean Ebony would be discovered. Julian promised that when he was older, after highschool, that he would use the links he'd found in Ebony's scar and destroy all of them. Even if he had to eat his way through them all to do so, he thought with a grimace.

Any other teen making this promise wouldn't be believed, but Jonathan and Rose knew the power Demon had, and agreed. They were also thanking their lucky stars that Demon had warded their home with its own magic, which would keep anyone from getting in who weren't invited. With the horcrux away, making his scar barely visible, and the magic traces gone, Ebony was introduced to the world of magic and joined his siblings in learning everything he could, eagerly soaking everything he learned up like a sponge. He was also signed up to the local playschool with Evangeline that he enjoyed greatly.

A couple of days later, Sirius Black had some visitors.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Albus Dumbledore's office held lots of interesting things. Past headmaster or headmistress portraits, rare books, little gadgets, the sorting hat and of course his Phoenix Fawkes. Someone could spend quite some time pottering around in there without the slightest chance of getting bored. The whirling, spinning, tapping and clanking gadgets were always a source of entertainment. Many a person had taken a guess as to what each did, or if they did anything at all. Albus allowed them their guessing, amused at some of their ideas. Of course he knew what each did. How else would he keep a watch on the saviour of the wizarding world? Harry Potter was vital to his plans, and his plans needed the boy to be kept under his control. All of his gadgets told him the day to day life of the Boy Who Lived. And he was happy with what he saw. By the time the boy came to him he'd be meek enough to follow his every command.

This day though, when Albus had left to check on something at the ministry, they did something they had never done before. Each and every one of them stopped their tapping and clanking and whizzing, and exploded. Fawkes, who was sleeping comfortably, was startled awake and almost fell off his perch. The sorting hat watched as pieces of gadgets spread themselves around the room, and hummed to itself.

'Looks like our Mr Potter is changing the story' it chuckled.

Fawkes glanced at the hat, trilled, and tucked his head back under his wing. Harry Potter may be re-writing history, but he wasn't stopping Fawkes from having his afternoon nap.

OOO

'Black! You got visitors!'

A matted head glanced up at the guard's call. Visitors? He watched as the guard spoke briefly with a man before taking his leave. The man stepped forward to stand in front of the cell. Sirius started slightly when he realised there was a second person off to one side. Why would they bring a child into this place?!

'Sirius Black, my name is Jonathan Meadow, and this is my son Julian. We were hoping to ask you a few questions' the man spoke.

Sirius dragged himself up and over to the bars.

'Why did you bring a kid here?! The Dementors…!'

Jonathan chuckled. The Dementors took one look at Julian and were scared off by the Demon magic pouring out the boy.

'Yes I was worried at bringing Julian here at first. But, strangely enough, the Dementors don't bother him in the slightest'.

Sirius was shocked. Someone who wasn't affected by Dementors. He examined the kid. Didn't seem much older than eleven or twelve.

'You said you had questions?' he asked.

The man nodded and brought out his wand. Sirius flinched but Jonathan only cast a privacy charm before conjuring up some chairs. He sat and waved his son into the other seat, gesturing for Sirius to sit in the one put in his cell.

'Yes. It's about your godson Harry Potter'.

At this he had Sirius' full attention.

'Harry! Is he ok?!'

'Yes he is fine, although I should tell you he goes by the name Ebony now' Jonathan replied.

Sirius looked confused. Jonathan gave a smile and continued.

'Perhaps I should start at the beginning. You see I had finished a job and…'

OOO

'Those bastards! He wasn't supposed to go to them! Albus you old fool!' Sirius ranted, pacing back and forth in his cell.

Jonathan waited patiently until he had calmed down before speaking again.

'So you see Mr Black, my wife and I have adopted Ebony. We've taken him to the hospital and had him checked out. My wife Rose has brewed up a set of potions that will help overcome the slight stunt in his development. As we caught it at an early stage it won't take long for Ebony to be back to the normal weight and height for a three year old'.

'Thank you! Bless you I don't know how to describe how grateful I am!' Sirius said with such gratitude in his eyes that it made Jonathan wonder.

'Now then Mr Black. The reason myself and my son are here is to get your side of the story regarding that tragic night. I'm starting to believe you weren't the one who betrayed the Potter family'.

So Sirius told them what happened. About Pettigrew and how Sirius came to be standing in the middle of a street of dead muggles. Jonathan let him talk, already formulating a plan to hopefully get a hold of the rat called Peter Pettigrew. When Sirius finished Jonathan glanced towards his son. Julian's nod told him all he needed to know. Sirius was a hundred percent innocent.

'Well now this complicates things. We will need to find Pettigrew in order to free you' Jonathan mused.

Sirius looked at him wide eyed.

'You want to help me?!'

The elder man chuckled and nodded.

'Of course. It's bad enough that you've been dumped here without a trial. But being denied your right to raise your godson is something I will not allow'.

Sirius tearfully let out a chuckle and rested his head against the bars.

'Thank you' he whispered.

Jonathan reached out and patted the younger man on the shoulder.

'You are most welcome. Now all we need is a plan'.

They both started when Julian, who up until now had been silent, spoke.

'Once we get Pettigrew, I can switch him with Mr Black. Then we can let the authorities discover Pettigrew on their own'.

The boy shivered as wails echoed around the prison. Jonathan pulled his son close to him for comfort.

'It's ok son. They won't hurt you again'.

He glanced up to see Sirius questioning look. Jonathan sighed.

'My son had been hurt by many of the prisoners here. He was a victim of Voldemort and his deatheaters'.

Sirius swallowed and looked at the kid. Julian was pale and shivering, but his eyes showed determination. Sirius admired the kid's bravery.

'I'm afraid I must cut this visit short and get my son back home. We will return when we find the rat' Jonathan said, standing up.

'Yes, of course' Sirius replied, then addressed the kid.

'Thank you, for keeping an eye on my godson. You're a brave kid'.

He earned himself a small smile and returned it, watching as the pair left. The privacy charm was lifted and the chairs vanished. Sirius slumped back on his bed, a small light of hope flaring in his chest.

OOO

Jonathan sent out word to all his contacts. Be on the lookout for a rat missing a finger on its front paw. He didn't say who said rat was, only that it was special and it was important that it was found. He didn't expect a reply so quickly.

Arthur Weasley was tinkering around in his shed when an owl flew through the window. It perched and held out its leg, sticking around after Arthur had taken the letter. So his old mentor wanted a bit of help did he? Jonathan Meadow and Arthur had met several years back when Arthur was an Unspeakable. The older man was very good at getting information out of people, but also very good at keeping such information to himself when required. Arthur hummed in surprise when the older man's target fitted the description of his son Percy's pet rat. Idly he wondered why Jonathan wanted the thing as he sent off a reply, asking the man to meet up in the Leaky Cauldron on Saturday, his day off. Oh well he shrugged, he'd get his answer soon enough.

Jonathan and Julian met with the red head at two, booking a table and ordering something to eat. Jonathan smiled when he noticed Arthur's questioning look towards Julian.

'It's good to see you again Arthur. Allow me to introduce my son Julian' he spoke.

The man glanced at him with a chuckle and held out a hand to Julian.

'It's good to meet you Julian. You look about ages with my eldest sons Bill and Charlie'.

The boy spoke a greeting and they shook hands and sat down.

'Still fostering I see? How many children have you taken in now?' Arthur asked.

Jonathan chuckled.

'More than you know, and I'll continue to do so until the day I die. But Rose and I decided Julian and our granddaughter Evangeline were deserving enough to stay for good' he joked with a smile to his son.

Arthur watched the two and smiled. Then frowned as something stuck with him.

'Granddaughter? So not young Julian's sister?'

Jonathan quickly placed a privacy charm around the table, and noticed Julian enforcing it unseen with Demon magic.

'Yes granddaughter. Evangeline is Julian's daughter'.

Arthur's reply was interrupted by the barkeeper. They placed their order and Arthur jumped in.

'Daughter?! But Julian here barely looks a day over thirteen, if that! How old is your granddaughter?'

Jonathan sighed.

'I know. Evangeline is three years old, and your guess with Julian is spot on, he's thirteen'.

He placed a hand on his son's shoulder.

'My son has been through a traumatic experience. And his creature blood allowed him to become pregnant by their actions'.

Arthur sat back in shock and horror. He then narrowed his eyes.

'Who would do such a thing?! And does this have anything to do with this rat you're after?'

Jonathan growled to himself.

'Deatheaters, that's who! Led by their leader, that bastard Voldemort!'

He shook himself out his fury and turned to Julian, who had started to shrink back.

'I'm sorry son. I can't help but get angry at them'.

He turned back to Arthur's horrified expression.

'And yes, in a way the rat is linked to all this. You see we are on the hunt for a rat animagus called Peter Pettigrew, deatheater and one of those who hurt my son'.

Arthur went pale.

'Pettigrew! But he's supposed to be dead!'

'That is what we are here to find out' Jonathan replied.

The rest of the meal was spent quietly, small talk about school and work and such. Jonathan explained that his son went to a muggle school instead of Hogwarts, but that Julian still got a magical education from himself and Rose. When the meal was over Jonathan paid the bill, much to Arthur's protest, and asked if they could see the rat. Arthur nodded and led them to the floo. He went in first, followed by a slightly nervous Julian, and then Jonathan.

OOO

Molly had just popped into the kitchen when the floo flared up. She stuck her head back through to see her husband stepping in, followed by a young boy and then an older man.

'Jonathan? How nice to see you again. How is Rose?' she said, bustling through to give him a hug.

'As lovely as ever Molly. Rose is fine' Jonathan replied with a smile.

Molly stepped back and looked him over, then turned to Julian.

'And who might this be then?'

'This is my son Julian. He's helping me out on some work' Jonathan replied.

Molly smiled and pulled the boy into a hug, frowning when he stiffened slightly.

'He's skin and bones! Good thing I just finished making muffins' she said, a little worried when Julian backed away a few steps.

Jonathan was quick to comfort his son. He turned to Molly.

'Nothing to worry about my dear. My son's not had the best life and is still a bit nervous about getting hugs' he said in explanation.

Molly's eyes widened.

'Oh my word I am sorry! Here I go, a complete stranger, yanking him towards me!'

He looked at Julian.

'I am sorry deary, I get ahead of myself at times'.

Her heart almost broke at his quiet but polite reply.

'It's ok Mrs Weasley. I know you weren't going to hurt me. I just got a scare'.

'None of this Mrs Weasley. Just you call me Molly young man. Such a polite boy you are, I hope you like sticky toffee muffins' she fussed and headed through to the kitchen.

Arthur chuckled and glanced at Julian.

'A right charmer you are' he said with a wink.

He received a small smile for his efforts and waved his guests into seats.

'I wonder where the kids are. It's too quiet' he mused.

Jonathan laughed.

'That's when you worry, when it's quiet' he chuckled.

Just at that there came a crash from upstairs and a pair of red blurs shot down.

'We didn't do it!' they said together, hiding behind the couch as another boy stormed down.

'Mum! They put a stink bomb under my bed!'

'Percy stop yelling! Ron and Ginny are napping!' Molly said sternly as she came though with a tray of muffins and tea.

'And you two! I'll be taking the wooden spoon to you if you don't behave?!' she huffed at the twins who cowered by the couch.

'Sorry mum' all three chorused.

It was Percy who noticed they had guests and blushed slightly in embarrassment.

'You probably don't remember Mr Meadow Percy. You were just a baby when you first met him. And this is his son Julian' Arthur said.

The seven year old shuffled his feet but stuck out his hand.

'It's nice to meet you Mr Meadow'.

Jonathan smiled and shook the boy's hand.

'Nice to see you again too Percy'.

Percy then turned to Julian and they greeted each other and shook hands.

'You must be about seven now right?' Jonathan asked.

The boy nodded and puffed out his chest.

'I'll be going to Hogwarts in four years' he said proudly.

Jonathan smiled, then turned to the five year old twins who were staring at him and Julian.

'Now boys it's rude to stare. Why don't you say hello' Arthur scolded.

The two grinned and went over, holding out their hands.

'I'm Fred…'

'And I'm George…'

'It's nice to meet you' they finished.

Jonathan laughed as he shook their hands.

'I can see you two are going to be mischief makers when you get older'.

'They're mischief makers now' Molly muttered as they introduced themselves to Julian, who looked bemused.

'We're five years old…'

'And we'll be going to Hogwarts in…' George counted his fingers.

'Six years time!'

'And we're going to have lots of fun!' Fred continued.

Jonathan hummed in amusement.

'I see'.

'Percy, Mr Meadow was asking me all about your pet rat. Could you go get him for us?' Arthur asked his son.

Percy beamed and ran upstairs, coming back down carefully holding his pet.

'Why do you want to see Scabbers?' Fred asked.

'He's just a fat lazy old rat' George followed.

'Boys!' Molly warned and they shut up.

Percy scowled at the two then smiled and held out the rat to Jonathan.

'Here you go Mr Meadow. This is Scabbers'.

Jonathan thanked the boy and took the rat. He briefly examined it, noticing the missing finger. The rat stared at him in what could only be suspicion. He glanced to Julian who was glaring darkly at it. Jonathan turned to Arthur and discretely nodded, the other man went pale.

'Is there something wrong?' Molly asked in concern.

Jonathan smiled.

'No not at all, it's a fine pet'.

'Molly dear, have the twins cleaned their room yet? Arthur asked, giving her a look.

She caught on quickly, and though confused, herded the protesting twins upstairs to finish tidying up. Percy quickly followed, not willing to let them get into his room when he wasn't there.

'Arthur what's going on?' Molly asked when she came back down.

Her husband hit the stairs with a privacy charm, just encase any of their children tried to listen in, which he wouldn't put past the twins. While he did that, Jonathan hit the struggling rat with a stunner and placed it on the floor.

'We have reason to believe that Percy's pet is actually an animagus' he explained.

Molly looked shocked as he performed the spell that would change the rat back into human. In no time there was a fat slightly balding man in the middle of their living room. All three adults immediately had their wands on him.

'That's Peter Pettigrew! I thought he was dead!' Molly hissed.

'He faked it, to allow an innocent party to go to Azkaban in his place' Jonathan said.

'Sirius Black!' Arthur breathed.

'But surely they would have checked with truth serum?' Molly protested.

'Mr Black was never given a trial' Jonathan explained.

Molly made a noise of shock as he glanced at his son, who nodded.

'Molly, Arthur, before we go any further, I will need an oath of secrecy'

The two looked at him. Arthur knew the older man wouldn't ask for such a thing without a very good reason. He nodded.

'I Arthur Weasley do hereby swear on my magic to keep the events of today, and any other day required, a secret, so mote be it'.

There was a flash to seal the oath and he smiled at his friend. Molly took a moment to think, then decided to trust her husband on this one.

'I Molly Weasley do hereby swear on my magic to keep the events of today a secret, and any other day required, a secret, so mote be it'.

When the flash faded Jonathan smiled.

'Thank you. Now you probably won't believe what you are about to see, but I assure you no one is in danger. Except perhaps Pettigrew' he said and nodded to Julian.

The couple watched in shock as the boy suddenly transformed into a vicious looking monster. Demon growled as he crouched next to the stunned man, blasting Pettigrew with his magic. Jonathan added a silencing charm to the stairs as the man was un-stunned and started screaming and thrashing around. Demon linked into the rat man's soul and used it to drain Pettigrew's magic. Once he had it down to a trickle, allowing the man nothing but a lumos spell, certainly not enough to change form, he stepped away, changing back and leaning against his father breathing heavily from the surge, leaving the man a panting wreck. He hadn't done that before. When Demon was out it was almost like two beings in one body. Julian could see and to a certain degree influence Demon's actions, but other than that he was content to sit back and allow Demon to use his instincts. In this case, that meant doing something very few witches and wizards could do, at least not without a seriously dark ritual.

He took a peek at the Weasley couple, hoping they didn't think he was a monster.

'What in the world was that?!' Molly gasped, wincing when her cry made the child shrink back a bit.

'My son happens to be part Demon. Not to worry, the Demon side is quite tame. It certainly surprised he as well, but we've gotten used to it' Jonathan explained, then turned to Pettigrew as the Weasley couple shared a shocked but amazed look.

'Well Pettigrew, now that we know you won't run off on us, I'd say it's time to take you to see Sirius' Jonathan said coldly.

The man whimpered and crawled to Jonathan's feet.

'No! Not Sirius! I'm innocent! Please, I hid to stop Black coming for me!' he blubbered.

When his plea was ignored he turned to Julian, forgetting for a moment that the boy was the one to go Demon on him.

'I didn't want to hurt you! He made me! Poor sweet little boy I didn't want to. I don't like kids like that. Please I had to!'

He ignored Molly's horrified gasp as he grabbed hold of Julian's shoulders.

'You believe me don't you? You know I wouldn't hurt anyone. Sweet boy you know I was forced'.

He screamed and crawled back, his hands blackened from the fire that sprung up around the boy.

'I was forced! Not you! You joined Voldemort because you wanted someone to hide behind! You are a coward who hurts children, and you're only sorry because you got caught!' Julian growled out, keeping a tight leash on Demon else he kill the bastard. They needed Pettigrew alive to free Sirius, and that was the only thing stopping Demon from tearing him limb from limb.

Jonathan reached out and brought the trembling child to him.

'You only care about yourself. You don't care that an innocent man is in prison! You don't care that you left a baby an orphan! You didn't care that I was locked in a cell. That I had little food or water, nothing to cover me, and was used as a plaything! YOU DON'T CARE AT ALL!' Julian yelled, tears pouring down his cheeks.

Jonathan pulled his son into a hug, rubbing Julian's back as he sobbed into his shoulder. He was of half a mind to let Demon come back out, but he knew why his son was fighting to hold him back. He gave the trembling Pettigrew a cold look.

'Quite frankly the world would thank me if I killed you right now. However you are needed to get Sirius Black out of Azkaban'.

He turned to the Weasley couple. Molly was in tears and Arthur was glaring harshly at Pettigrew.

'I'm sorry for the trouble Arthur, Molly. I have some money here to allow you to buy Percy another pet'.

He waved off Arthur's protest.

'No Arthur, I took the lad's pet away, it's only fair I replace it. I just didn't know what he would want so I brought money. We'll be taking this sorry excuse for a wizard with us and hopefully get Sirius out of Azkaban'.

He handed the younger man a bag of galleons, playing ignorant to the fact that there was enough there to buy pets for every member of the household. He then re-stunned the whimpering Pettigrew and levitated him to the floo. Molly came over and gently pulled Julian into a hug.

'You're welcome here any time dear. We'll have you over in the summer. You can meet my eldest boys'.

The boy was still shaking but wiped his eyes and gave her a nod and small smile. She smiled back tearfully and let him go to his father.

'That extends to little Evangeline and any other children you have' Arthur said to Jonathan, who nodded with a warm smile.

'Thank you. And of course your family is welcome any time at our home, you have our address. Julian you go first, it's set up for home'.

He watched as his son went through, then turned to the couple.

'And thanks, for not making a big deal out of Demon. I know he scared you'.

'He did a bit' Arthur replied with a breathless laugh.

'He's a sweet boy Jonathan. I was ready to hex that…that man into next week so I can't imagine that poor Julian must have been thinking' Molly added.

Smiling Jonathan nodded and grabbed Pettigrew, stepping into the fire. Molly and Arthur shared a look. They didn't need an oath to keep this secret, amazing as it was. Another crash and a scream from upstairs made them sigh and they headed up to see to their children.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Sirius looked up as he saw the group coming to his cell. The guard nodded to Jonathan and left, and Jonathan smiled at the man's retreating form. Another contact he was happy he had. He turned to Sirius and examined the man.

'My wife will never let you keep your hair that long. If you're lucky she will allow you out the bathroom by tonight.

Sirius grinned hopefully.

'Does that mean you have him?'

Jonathan nodded, and pulled the hood off the third member of their party. He'd placed Pettigrew under the imperious curse, a crime sure, but he was certain no one would bother checking for it when they found the man. Sirius growled at him, then looked at Jonathan.

'What's the plan?'

Jonathan glanced at his son.

'Before I tell you, are you willing to keep a secret?'

'For what you have done for me I will keep a thousand secrets. And the moment I get a wand I'll swear to it' Sirius replied.

Jonathan smiled at the man.

'Very well then. The plan is Julian here will switch you and Pettigrew. Then he will remove the magic of every deatheater prisoner here'.

Sirius was stunned.

'What?! How is that possible?!'

'That is the reason I asked you to keep our secret' Jonathan replied and nodded to Julian.

He too wondered just how it was possible when Julian told him, but accepted that Demon was the one in control of that aspect and with Demons anything was possible. He might have wanted Demon to kill them rather than take their magic, but that would cause too much suspicion. A pity really, they all deserved death.

Sirius mouth dropped open as the shy and innocent looking boy suddenly turned into a winged beast. He gulped as the Demon stared at him.

'There is no need to worry. Demon will not harm you' Jonathan reassured.

Sirius wasn't so sure, but watched stunned as Demon touched the cell door and it swung open. Jonathan motioned for him to come out and he slowly crept forward. Demon didn't pay him much attention as Pettigrew was pushed inside. The curse lifted and a small memory charm added to stop him mentioning the imperious, then the door locked behind him. He jerked in panic, then promptly fainted when he saw Demon. Sirius then watched in stunned amazement as Demon took flight and soared down the corridor. He heard people start to scream and winced. Obviously having your magic taken away hurt like a bitch. He glanced at Pettigrew and wondered if Julian had already taken the magic from the rat.

'He's been seen to. We wouldn't want him escaping again. I placed a silencing charm between the office and the cells. The guards won't come' Jonathan answered.

Sirius nodded absentmindedly as he listened to the screams echoing around the prison. A few wails joined in.

'We found that Dementors really don't like Demons. Have they been bothering you much since we left?' Jonathan said with a smile.

Sirius blinked. No, they hadn't been bothering him. He turned to Jonathan with wide eyes.

'Julian "asked them nicely" to leave you alone' the older man chuckled.

Sirius bit his lip as chuckles threatened to escape.

'I'm beginning to like young Julian more and more' he grinned, pushing back the more negative emotions until he was calm enough to work through them.

Jonathan nodded gratefully and handed him the cloak, he covered himself as Demon returned and changed back, Julian making a face and spelling away a little gore on his shirt. Jonathan gave the boy a look, but Julian wouldn't answer. Together they left the prison, discovering and promptly ignoring the pool of blood coming from Bellatrix Lestrange's cell.

'Must have got hold of a sharp object. She was always crazy' Julian muttered.

The pair swallowed, but otherwise agreed.

Sirius breathing a sigh of relief when the guards didn't bat an eyelid at their passing. Jonathan apparated them back home and made introductions. Sirius couldn't help but smile as he watched his godson playing happily with little Evangeline. The green eyed boy had looked at him for a moment, chewing his lip in concentration. Then Ebony had beamed and launched himself at Sirius with a cry of 'Padfoot!' Sirius was thanking every deity he knew, tears running down his cheeks, as he held his godson close.

After that rather tearful reunion, Sirius was ushered upstairs by Rose to clean up. They set out some of Jonathan's clothes for the younger man to wear and he came out the shower feeling better than he'd done in years. It was only topped by a delicious meal made by Rose, and he sat smiling and laughing as the pair of three year olds talked away about what they did that day. Rose had brewed him a case of nutrition potions to be taken with every meal, and her stern look stopped Sirius from even thinking about protesting. Like a good boy he swallowed the vial of liquid, grimacing at the taste. Evangeline had giggled at him and he stuck his tongue out at her, causing more giggles.

Sirius was given a full explanation. He'd already heard about the Dursleys, and was glad to know Vernon and Petunia were in custody. He was horrified to know Ebony had a horcrux in his scar, and thankful Demon had taken it out. He asked Jonathan about other possible horcruxes, and was told Demon would handle them once Julian was older, and that it was best not many people knew about them just encase word got to deatheaters. He had to bite his tongue hard to stop himself swearing violently when he found out Evangeline was Julian's daughter. The idea that that bastard Voldemort could do that to a child, worse still invite his deatheaters to do the same! In private he asked Jonathan if they knew who the other father was. The older man told him they never tested Evangeline, and it didn't matter. All that mattered was that she had a daddy who dotted on her, grandparents who thought the world of her, and a brother to play with.

With dinner over Jonathan led Sirius to the spare room, telling him he could stay for as long as he needed. He then offered to buy the younger man clothes and a wand the next day, and waved off Sirius' protests. Sirius promised to pay the man back as soon as he could for his generosity. The entire family decided to go out with him and make a day of it. With Ebony and Sirius under a glamour they set out early to Diagon Alley. Sirius was impressed at how polite and well behaved Evangeline was. All around him children were screaming and running and demanding and here this little girl was walking with her daddy, holding his hand, and hardly giving a glance to the toyshop or the sweetshop. Jonathan said that Julian, though young, was an excellent parent and had taught his daughter to ask nicely if she wanted to see something and not to demand sweets and toys. Ebony was of course just as well behaved, holding Sirius' hand and gazing round in awe.

They spent some time in just about every store. Sirius was given a full wardrobe, much to his protest, and he was sure Ollivander knew who he was selling the wand to. He was just glad the man kept his mouth shut. They made a trip to Gringotts where Sirius checked on his vault. The Goblins seemed happy to see him and assured him his vault hadn't been touched. They even made him a new key. They mentioned to him that it might be best he was tested encase he had any titles. Sirius, surprised, arranged a time and date for the test, then had asked permission to use one of their owls to get in touch with a friend, and handed over some money for the service as he scribbled a note. With that done there was a small argument about paying Jonathan back, but eventually Sirius got his way. He then treated everyone to ice cream, much to the delight of Evangeline and Ebony.

With all his clothes put away, Sirius lay on his bed thinking. He wondered where Remus was. He wondered why Albus had sealed James and Lily's Wills. Most of all he wondered when Pettigrew would be discovered. He cracked a grin. That discovery was going to cause quite a bit of chaos in the wizarding world. Only topped by the gruesome discovery of the late Bellatrix Lestrange.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

He sat looking at the paper spread out on his desk.

 _Sirius Black Innocent!_

 _In a surprising turn of events, Sirius Black has been pardoned by the ministry over his involvement in the deaths of the Potters. A guard at Azkaban tells us all:_

" _I had just started my shift and had to feed the prisoners. At first nothing was out of the ordinary and I had no reason to think something had happened. Then I came to Bellatrix Lestrange's cell and let me tell you it was a mess in there. I don't know how but she must have got a hold of something sharp, a sharpened stone or something, and not only slit her own throat but gutted herself as well. It was horrible, almost lost my lunch. I had to move away and figured I would give myself time to calm down before letting people know. The shocks just kept coming as when I got to Black's cell there was someone else in his place. When I realised who this person was, I nearly fainted. Like everyone else, I thought Peter Pettigrew was dead. I immediately ran back to the office to tell the head of both incidences. He and a group of others came up to see for themselves. Pettigrew was so much of a shock that Lestrange's corpse barely got a second glance. All of us were certain we were indeed seeing Pettigrew. The head contacted the ministry and they sent some aurors to see to Pettigrew. Amelia Bones herself was heading the group. She assured us she would find out what happened, and they left with Pettigrew while we dealt with cremating Lestrange. We later heard that he'd been given veritaserum and confessed to be the real betrayer of the Potters. Not even two days later Black handed himself in. We later heard that Pettigrew was Kissed. I don't know how Black was switched with Pettigrew. The guards would have seen him, and if not us then the Dementors wouldn't have let him leave. He did receive visitors not long before the switch was made, but as they consisted of a man and a young boy we're sure they had nothing to do with it. It was a good thing though. I mean all of us thought Black was guilty, and in truth we were keeping an innocent man behind bars. I hope Mr Black recovers and I for one am sorry that he was ever in Azkaban in the first place"._

 _You heard right readers, Bellatrix Lestrange dead and Black switched with Pettigrew. We spoke with Amelia Bones who assured us that Pettigrew was subjected to various tests to ensure he was really Peter Pettigrew. Black was unavailable for comment._

 _As for Bellatrix, her ashes were reported scattered into the ocean, though one must wonder if it was really suicide, or whoever had switched Pettigrew and Black taking their revenge while they were there. Either way, it's one less deatheater for us to worry about._

 _Sirius Black now Lord Black!_

 _The title of Lord Black has been claimed! Sirius Black was seen entering Gringotts the day after his pardon, only to emerge as Lord Black. He gave us a brief interview:_

" _I am just happy to be free. I knew I was cast out of the family, but I thought it had been made official. The Goblins were quick to tell me that wasn't the case. I still need time to recover from Azkaban, but once I do I will use my new title to make sure people are given a trial before being locked up. I'm glad the real betrayer has been Kissed"._

 _When asked about young Harry Potter, he had this to say:_

" _I'm sure that wherever Harry is, he's being taken care of. Of course I want to see him, he's my godson and the only thing I have left of Lily and James"._

 _We at the prophet wish Lord Black all the best in his future, and hope that he can reconnect with Harry Potter after the tragic events of that Halloween._

Albus growled to himself. This wasn't what he planned. Harry was missing, Black was free, Pettigrew in his place. Bellatrix's death was barely worth thinking about, though he did see the link between her death and Sirius being switched. He glanced at what was left of his gadgets. He'd arrived back from another of Fudge's I-have-no-money-in-the-budget rants to find his office in shambles. He'd immediately went to the Dursleys, to find even more chaos. The wards had fallen, Vernon was under trial for child abuse, Dudley was with his aunt, and Petunia was under investigation. She hysterically explained what happened, pinning him with a glare and blaming him for leaving the freak on their doorstep. Albus left with questions buzzing round his head. Who was this Jonathan Meadow? And why did he have to butt his nose in to other people's lives?!

Albus tried to get Vernon out of prison, only to be blocked by a care worker by the name of Juliet Parker. She, unfortunately, was a stubborn witch who wouldn't give Albus any information other than what he already knew. He might be leader of the light Albus-too-many-titles-Dumbledore, but that did not give him permission to dump a child on a doorstep. When he insisted as Harry's magical guardian to see the boy, she rather smugly informed him that the boy already had a magical guardian. Even fishing information out her head was useless, she as a rule of a magical care worker, knew enough occlumency to keep him out. And unfortunately, she knew her way around the legal system. Albus was getting nothing from her but snubs. Albus tried a last ditch attempt to get Harry by explaining that he needed to stay at his relatives to stay protected. He found himself pinned by an icy glare and felt himself shiver as Juliet coldly told him that blood wards were _not_ considered protection, and that if she had anything to say about it, Albus would find himself behind bars for his involvement in Harry's "care".

With that path blocked, Albus instead turned to this Jonathan fellow. However he got no further than he did with Juliet. Simply put, the Meadows didn't seem to exist. Demon had been working overtime to make sure that anyone looking for Ebony with ill intentions would not find him. After days of getting nowhere, Albus returned in frustration to his office and sat stewing for the next two days.

He glanced at the paper again. Perhaps with Black free he could find a lead on Harry. The man would surely be looking for the boy. All Albus needed to do was offer his assistance. He was sure, once they found Harry, that he could convince Black that the boy was safer at his relatives. He could recast the wards, Vernon wasn't needed. Perhaps he could even place a fidelius on the house, with himself as the secret keeper. That would keep Black and that Parker woman away. Albus smiled. This was a set back, a big set back, but it wasn't ruined completely.

OOO

Remus' first reaction was to burn the letter in his hands. However he took a breath, calmed himself, and started to read. The more he read, the more horrified he was. Sirius was innocent! Pettigrew was alive! Remus couldn't believe what he was reading. He got confirmation when an owl dropped off the Daily Prophet. Pettigrew truly was guilty. It took Remus another two days before he felt comfortable enough to send a letter back to Sirius. The man's reply asked for them to meet up, and Remus gladly accepted. He'd lost everything when Lily and James died. Even Harry had been taken from him. Pack meant everything to Remus, and without it he'd almost lost himself.

The two had met in a small café in London. Lily had taken them to it not long after Harry was born. Remus had taken one look at the dark haired man, choked back tears and rushed into his arms. Sirius put up a notice-me-not charm and sat comforting his sobbing friend, close to sobbing himself. He waved off the Werewolf's apologies, saying he wouldn't have believed either it if he were in Remus' place. When his friend was calm enough, Sirius explained everything he was able. He grinned at Remus' expression, and asked if the Werewolf wanted to see Ebony again. Remus jumped at the opportunity and Sirius led the man back to the Meadow's home. Jonathan and Rose were introduced and greetings were made. Rose took one look at Remus, tutted and pulled the man to the table, placing a delicious meal in front of him. Remus' protests were ignored and Sirius sat laughing at his friend. Jonathan smiled at the pair and called down the children. Ebony had barely noticed the man, before he was running into his arms yelling "Moony!"

'Of course he immediately remembered you. He always liked his uncle Moony more than Padfoot' Sirius grumbled.

Jonathan chuckled and patted the younger man's shoulder as Remus hugged his cub tightly and tearfully. Evangeline giggled and hugged her uncle Padfoot, making him smile. Remus finally allowed Ebony to leave his embrace. He glanced at the other children.

'This must be Julian and young Evangeline'.

Evangeline smiled and went over, holding out her hand.

'Hello. It's nice to meet you Mr Moony'.

Remus smiled as Sirius snorted. He took the tiny hand.

'Aren't you such a polite child. It is nice to meet you as well'.

He glanced up as the older boy came over. Remus found himself lost in those vivid eyes. Julian seemed to pull him in. He started when the wolf woke and prowled close to the surface. There was something about this child, something that was making Moony react.

'Nice to meet you Mr Lupin' Julian spoke quietly.

Remus blinked and shook his head, shaking the boy's hand with a smile. He was pretty sure there was some sort of creature blood in this boy, enough to make Moony interested.

'It is nice to meet you'.

Jonathan noticed the slight interaction between the two. It would appear that Demon was interested in the Werewolf. It didn't bother Jonathan or Rose about Remus' condition, they knew he couldn't help it. Plus it would be kinda hypocritical of them to house a Demon and shun a Werewolf. Rose had immediately started on a batch of wolfsbane so there was no danger to the children. Jonathan had sat down the children and explained what a Werewolf was. Evangeline seemed fascinated that a person could change into a wolf, while Ebony and Julian just nodded.

Jonathan started when he felt a presence next to him. He smiled down at his son.

'Demon can cure him' Julian said quietly.

Jonathan blinked, and glanced at Remus who was currently praising Rose on her cooking.

'Are you sure?' he asked his son.

Julian nodded.

'Demon communicates with me by giving me nudges in my head and sending emotions. He did it with Ebony, but I didn't know why until he found the soul piece. He was nudging me when I shook Mr Lupin's hand. I got an image in my head of a wolf changing into a man with a full moon in the background' he explained.

This was a big discovery. If Demon really could cure lycanthropy it could mean the end of Werewolves! Pity Julian would be hunted himself if it was discovered he had Demon blood. Jonathan sighed, he wouldn't put his son in danger, even if it did mean no more Werewolves. Demon could at least help Remus.

'I'll talk to him son' he replied.

Jonathan waited until late evening, when Evangeline and Ebony were in bed, before bringing up the topic. Both Remus and Sirius gazed at Julian wide eyed when they were told. Well, a little more than wide eyed from Remus who was only hearing this information for the first time. Jonathan told them not to get their hopes up. He felt confident Demon could do it, but it would break the two if there was a chance it didn't work. He asked Remus what he wanted to do.

At least Remus knew why Moony was interested in the boy. But not even his wildest guesses would have come close to Demon blood. He wasn't sure what to do. He'd been a Werewolf since he was six. Would he even cope without Moony? He looked up as his friend patted his shoulder. Sirius told him what Demon had done for him, and the Meadows had also explained what Demon had done for Ebony. He gasped at knowing there was a horcrux in his cub's scar, and Sirius told him his reaction was just the same. Remus took a few moments to really think about it. He'd always hoped a cure would be found for his condition. But he'd been a Werewolf for so long he'd grown used to the pain. He took a breath and looked up, agreeing.

Moony reacted violently to Demon. The wolf was terrified, snapping and lashing out until finally Sirius hit Remus with a petrificus totalus. Remus felt his entire body burn as Demon pulled out the dark magic. It seemed to last forever, but in truth it was only a couple of minutes before Demon changed back and Sirius cancelled the spell. Rose was quick to hold a pain potion to Remus' lips and he gratefully drank. With the help of Sirius he was put back on the couch.

'Did it work?' he whispered, unable to believe he'd been cured.

Jonathan was rubbing the back of a clearly exhausted Julian. He motioned for Remus to wait until his son caught his breath. Remus felt a twinge of guilt for hurting the child. After a few minutes Julian had calmed himself. He glanced up at Remus and gave a smile.

'It worked. I think Demon let you keep Moony though'.

The adults looked at him in confusion, so he tried to explain.

'The Werewolf is gone. Mr Lupin won't transform during the full moon. And he won't be able to infect others by biting them. But I think he still has the wolf in him'.

'You mean an animagus?!' Sirius asked in excitement.

Julian thought for a moment, then nodded.

Sirius whooped and grabbed Remus in a hug.

'Amazing! Bloody amazing!'

Remus was too stunned to speak. He wasn't a Werewolf anymore, but an animagus!

'Well, to be sure I'd say the best thing to do is wait until the next full moon. Not that I don't believe my son, but it will tell for sure' Jonathan said with a smile.

'That's just over a week away. I can clear out a corner in the basement. Though I don't think we'll be needing it' Rose followed.

Her mind was made up. Evangeline and Ebony were sharing a room until they were older. Julian had his own and so did Sirius. This was just the excuse she needed to get her husband to turn the attic into a fifth room. Remus would be staying with them for as long as he wished.

Jonathan noticed his wife's look and groaned to himself. Well, that's what he got for putting off working on the attic.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The full moon proved Remus was no longer a Werewolf. When he saw Julian the next day he had to hold himself back from sweeping the boy up into a crushing hug. Sirius immediately started helping him turn into his animagus form and soon Moony the large tawny wolf was joining Padfoot out in the nearby wood at nights, scaring the local wildlife.

The years leading up to the arrival of the Hogwarts letters were very busy indeed. With Sirius and now Remus there all three children benefited from a better education into the magical world. Such things as animagus training; occlumency and a bit of legilimency; a better understanding of potions; history of magical and non magical beings; some charm work to help around the house; and other things both taught and not taught at Hogwarts.

Julian's artwork became a hit during a contest at school. The winner's work would be sent to an agent and put on display. The agent was so impressed by Julian's work that they asked him to do a couple more. By the time he was out of school he'd made himself a small career with his pictures. It allowed more of an income into the house, which meant a few more luxuries.

Now that he was out of school Julian started a hunt for the horcruxes. He spent some time researching locations using the links and scouting areas checking for traps before actually starting to collect the pieces. Using what he learned, Demon's first target was the Gaunt home, Voldemort's, or should that be Tom Riddle's mother's family name. Julian returned triumphant with a ring cleansed of its soul piece, and a bad taste in his mouth. His first find led to an incredible discovery. Jonathan noticed the symbol on the black stone of the ring and he knew he'd seen it before. After checking with his contacts word came back that the symbol was that of the Deathly Hallows, a trio of powerful items rumoured to be given to three brothers by Death himself. Stunned and quite excited, Jonathan used the information known about the ring to check if it was actually linked to these items. A quick twist of the stone and he had the pleasure of a quick visit from his passed grandmother. A giddy conversation later and he had his answer. The stone on the ring was actually the one spoke about in legends. The Resurrection Stone. Jonathan could already feel the pull to use it again, so it was agreed that such a powerful item would be given to the Goblins to be placed in a high security vault, to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands.

While at the Goblins, Julian told them about the horcruxes, and that one of the links seemed to come from the general direction of the bank. The Goblins understandably were not happy that such dark magic could be under their care, and immediately had the vaults of death eaters scanned. They hit gold in the Lestrange vault, and picked up a cup once belonging to Helga Hufflepuff. As punishment for having the not only stolen item, but cursed item in their vault, the Lestranges were deducted a large sum of money, enough that it almost wiped out their finances. The Goblins weren't bothered though, since the only Lestranges left were in Azkaban. Demon was able to clense Hufflepuff's cup right there in the bank, both impressing and terrifying the Goblins. The cup would be placed in the Hufflepuff vault to await an heir.

Another link had a clear destination of Hogwarts, which was a problem as getting in there would be difficult, Demon or not. Plus, Hogwarts was a large castle, it could be hidden anywhere. Demon decided to have a go anyway, making his way there and hiding in the forbidden forest to plan his next move.

He didn't expect a Phoenix to flash in front of him.

Fawkes had detected the dark aura and immediately headed to it's location to deal with the threat. Only once he arrived he found someone who wasn't after the children, or the staff, but rather looking for something just as dark. Wary, Fawkes allowed Demon inside the castle, and remained with him as he searched for the horcrux. When they reached the seventh floor Demon just knew something was there. Fawkes, realising what was happening, asked Hogwarts to help. She responded by opening a hidden door, and inside, amongst the junk of years past, was a diadem. A diadem once belonging to Rowenda Ravenclaw of all people. Demon saw to the soul piece, then turned and nodded to Fawkes in thanks for letting him in. The phoenix bowed back, more than a little relieved when the being then flew out the window into the night, leaving the diadem behind. With a slight shudder, Fawkes took the headpiece and flew to the Ravenclaw common room, where he replaced it with the fake one of the statue's head. Let that be a surprise for the next person wanting to examine it.

The next one proved less of a problem. Dobby had been either extremely lucky or extremely unlucky to come across Demon sneaking into the Malfoy mansion. He however was a brave little Elf and nervously asked Demon to sever the bonds between him and his family, in exchange for bringing Demon the nasty diary it appeared to be looking for. Demon agreed, sensing the abuse the Elf had suffered, and then decided to take it with him back home. It was left to Dobby to explain why he was there, and what had happened. Sirius took a shine to the little guy and offered Dobby work, if he wanted it. The Elf, having all but resigned himself to a slow death from the severed bond, but just so glad to be away from his horrible masters, jumped ast the chance.

The last one came from somewhere close to King's Cross station. As Demon pinpointed the location, Sirius realised that the horcrux was in his old home. While Rose stayed with the younger children, the others took a trip to the old house, and immediately saw they had a lot of work ahead of them, not so much in finding the horcrux, but in making the home feel livable again. Sirius hated the place, but he had to do something with it, even if it was just cleaning up and selling it on. The House Elf who lived there was a bitter old thing who hated Sirius. The feeling was neutral. Being a bit sneaky, Sirius ordered the Elf to move to the Malfoy home and replace Dobby, and not to tell the Malfoy's anything about him or why Dobby wasn't there any more. Kretcher was happy with the arrangement as he liked Narcissa, and so took off without another word. The men then left Demon to search, and he soon returned with a gaudy looking locket. He had also taken some time to clear out any pests lingering around the house. Remus was the one who realised that the locket once belonged to Salazar Slytherin. There had been a definate pattern to what items Voldemort had used to make horcruxes. Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and now Slytherin. The ressurection ring as well. His diary must have been the first, a kind of experiment to see if it worked, and then he looked for better treasures to use. After asking Dobby to take his time cleaning the place, the group took the locket to the Goblins, who placed it in Slytherin's vault. It allowed the adults some relief to know most if not all the horcruxes were now gone. Julian more than the others, as it took him ages to get the disgusting taste out his mouth each time.

Grimmauld Place took a bit of time and plenty of help to clean, and though Sirius at first was happy to be rid of it, once done even he was impressed enough that he decided to keep it as a home. It allowed for himself and Remus to move in, after a shopping trip to get a protesting Remus a brand new wardrobe worth of clothes. Of course the Meadows were frequent visitors, so much so that to the children Grimmauld Place was like a second home. Evangeline especially loved to explore the old house. She even befriended a Boggart that had snuck in, giggling when it shifted into a variety of scary shapes. The adults, stunned of course as they watched the little girl play with the shadowy being, decided it was due to Evangeline having the same Demon blood as her daddy. Thankfully the girl appeared to be a carrier, rather than have active blood. Even Julian agreed, one Demon was enough.

As Lord Black, Sirius now had a few duties to sort out. Bellatrix's marriage was dissolved and she was kicked out the family. Not that it really mattered but Sirius found it funny that her husband now had to pay back the dowery for her, which would wipe clean the remainder of the Lestrange vaults. Andromeda Tonks was reinstated, along with her husband Ted and her daughter Nymphadora, who once introduced to the Meadows, took an immediate shine to Julian. At two years younger she was his first female friend, and that was the excuse he would give for his blushes whenever she hugged or kissed him on the cheek. Narcissa and her son was left in the family for the time being. Sirius remembered her protests at marrying Lucius, which was a large point in her favour. During the meeting at Gringotts he got to meet her son, and while Draco was as arrogant and annoying as his father, that was because he was taught to be so.

The Weasley family played a big part in the children's lives. And they were happy to take another oath to ensure Ebony's identity would remain a secret. During the summers the children were introduced to Bill and Charlie and all became fast friends, especially Julian who now had people his own age to talk to in regards to magical subjects. Down the road from the Weasleys lived two magical families, the Lovegoods and the Diggorys. Amos was very much in Dumbledore's camp so they couldn't really let him or his wife in on much of the Meadow's secrets, though the children were happy to play with their son Cedric who was roughly ages with the twins. Evangeline and little Luna Lovegood on the other hand took an immediate shine to each other, and Xenophilius and his wife were happy to have their daughter included in the other children's activities. Selene Lovegood was a potion enthusiast and she and Rose were often found in the Lovegood or the Meadow basement tinkering away with ingrediants and recipies. It was fortunate they had become such good friends, for when Luna was nine there was an explosion in the Lovegood basement. The group rushed down to find Rose, seriously injured, dragging half dead Selene up the stairs, managing to get them both away in the nick of time. They were both taken to St Mungos where thankfully they made a full recovery. It was noted afterwards that bark from the murkwood tree, slime from the poison dark frog and fairy dust _did not_ mix.

The children spent time between the Meadows home, the Burrow, the Lovegood home, Grimmauld Place and the Tonks home. Holidays were spent together, as were birthdays and Christmases. They became a tight knit group, so much so that when Ebony began to talk to snakes not long after his tenth birthday, no one really minded and most found it fascinating. Sirius at first was a little unsure, but calmed when Jonathan explained that being a parseltongue did not make a person evil. Rather it was the way they used the ability. As each child grew, ideas for the future arose. Julian already had his art, but took up jobs in animal shelters, stables and anything else to do with both magical and non magical animals. He had also achieved one of the highest levels in his martial arts class. Bill had been snapped up right after graduation to work as a curse breaker for the Goblins. Charlie had a passion for Dragons, and managed to get a position as a handler on a reserve in Romania. Nymphadora wanted to be an Auror and was giddy with happiness to be taken on as an apprentice under one Alistair Moody, also known as Mad-Eye Moody, the summer right before Ebony, Evangeline and Ron would start Hogwarts. Despite being slightly klutzy, she was a natural at defence and her talents shone in the training program.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Finally it was time to go to Hogwarts. The group gathered to take a trip to Diagon Alley. Bill was currently in Egypt while Charlie was in Romania. Nymphadora was still training and her parents were taking on a tough case and couldn't make it. That left the Meadows, the Lovegoods, the remaining Weasley family and Sirius and Remus.

'I wish I was going to Hogwarts too!' Ginny whined.

'You and Luna will be able to join us next year' Evangeline replied with a smile.

'I hope I get into Gryffindor' Ron said nervously.

'I just hope I get in. It doesn't matter to me what house I'm in' Ebony replied.

'Yeah but you don't want to be in Slytherin house do you?!' Ron cried.

'I don't think there's anything wrong with the house. After all, daddy says it's what you do that makes you good or bad, not who you are' Evangeline replied.

Ron huffed but couldn't find a counter argument to that.

'I think I'd like to be in Ravenclaw' Luna mused.

'Ravenclaw would be good if you like to learn lots of things. I don't know what house I'll be in. Grampa and uncle Sirius say I can be really sneaky when I want to be, so I could be right for Slytherin. But then daddy says I'm really brave and that's a Gryffindor quality. And then there's loyalty for Hufflepuff' Evangeline said.

She then giggled.

'But then all of us have all four qualities. I think everyone has all of the qualities, and it's just a case of working out which one shines out the most'.

'Then I've got no luck. I'm not really brave, or smart, or sneaky. Guess that means Hufflepuff for me' Ron said gloomily.

'There's nothing wrong with Hufflepuff. Percy told me Cedric down the street is in Hufflepuff, and he's really nice. Besides you can be brave when you want to be' Ginny said.

'You don't need to worry. You'll go where you're supposed to go' Luna said.

Ron's reply was interrupted.

'Come on everyone, time to go!' Molly called out.

They had all met up in the Burrow bright and early to floo to Diagon Alley. The Lovegoods went first, followed by Remus, Sirius with Ebony, Julian with Evangeline and the Meadows, and then finally the Weasley family.

'Right then. Gringotts first. Then we'll split up and see to books, uniforms and what not until lunch. Then we'll all head to the wand store' Molly said.

'Ebony you're with me. Julian will take Evangeline, Jonathan you and Percy can pair up. Arthur and Molly with Ron and Ginny. Xenophilius and Selene will of course take Luna. Sirius, Remus, we're trusting you two to behave with Fred and George' Rose said.

'What do you mean trusting _us_?!' Sirius complained, which gave the group a chuckle.

Rose, Molly and Selene had sorted out the plan of action before leaving, so everyone picked their child and set off for the bank. With cash in hand the group split up.

'What's say we hit the joke shop?' Sirius asked with a grin.

The twins gave a cheer but Remus frowned.

'Sirius they don't need more material for pranks'.

'Aw come on Moony…!'

'Yeah Moony, we gotta see the new stock!'

'After all how are we supposed to keep up…'

'With the famous Padfoot, Prongs and Moony…'

'If we don't have the supplies?'

Sirius barked a laugh when Remus caved to the twin's pleading look. He was glad these two were the ones to find the map.

'Fine, but not for long. Molly will have our hides if we aren't finished by lunch'.

Sirius swung an arm round his lover and herded the group to Zonko's.

An hour later Remus finally managed to get the three out and they were able to pick up the third year book list and some parchment and quill sets. A couple of robes later and the group were rushing to meet the others, thankfully only ten minutes late.

OOO

'I reckon you'll make a fine prefect Percy' Jonathan said.

His charge smiled proudly as they picked up the fifth year book list and went on to the next shop. They were the first to arrive back at the Leaky Cauldron for lunch and spent the time talking about their interests. They were joined soon after by the Lovegoods who didn't need to do much shopping and really only went for some more potion ingredients and a few books.

OOO

'Alright you two, uniforms first' Molly said, steering the group to Madam Malkin's. She gave Ron a glare when he groaned.

'Daddy could I look around?' Ginny asked.

Arthur smiled.

'Come on and we'll both look around. I'm sure we'll find you something nice'.

It took a while to get the measurements, and they were joined by Ebony and Rose part way through.

'Just give me a moment deary and I'll be right with you' Madam Malkin said as she fussed with Ron.

'Take your time, we're in no rush' Rose replied as Ebony went over to chat with his friend.

'Nearly done Ron?'

'I hope so. I've been standing here for ages!' the red head whined.

Ebony sniggered and turned to look through the clothes on the racks. A few minutes later Ron was finished to his relief and Ebony was called over.

'Just the usual set deary?' Madam Malkin asked.

'Yes please' he replied and stretched out his arms to be measured.

He glanced over as the door chime went and a boy around his age came in.

'Won't be long deary' Madam Malkin called.

Ebony frowned as the blonde boy sneered at the woman before looking round the store. He remembered Sirius talking about the Malfoy family. This must be Draco. Ebony knew it wasn't polite to judge someone by first appearances, but he had a feeling he really wasn't going to like this boy. His frowned deepened when the blonde spotted Ron and started to insult the red head. The oncoming fight was prevented by the adults and the blonde sneered as he came over to Ebony.

'What a pathetic family. Father says they should have stopped at one child, or not had any at all' he droned.

Ebony stifled the urge to scowl at the blonde.

'The Weasley family have been very nice to me and all of Mr and Mrs Weasley's children are smart and kind. What have they ever done to you to make you insult them?'

'Do you know who you are talking to?! My name is Draco Malfoy and my family has been around for generations. The Weasleys are just blood traitors!' the blonde sneered.

'Does it really matter how long your family has been around? I was always taught that it's not who you are but what you do that makes you a good or bad person. You might be classed as a powerful or rich family, but that doesn't mean you are good people'.

Ebony sighed.

'I shouldn't be going off on a rant. I just don't like you insulting my friends. Everyone has their own views, and we should all respect that'.

He stepped down when Madam Malkin told him he was done, and looked to the blonde.

'It's nice to meet you Draco Malfoy. My name is Ebony Meadow. I'd say I hope to see you again in Hogwarts, but I have a feeling you'll find any excuse you can to hate me'.

He turned from the boy and went with his granny to pay for the clothes. Out the corner of his eye he saw Draco turn red with either anger or embarrassment, but the blonde said nothing as the group left the store. The Weasleys had more shopping to do so they parted ways.

OOO

'Where to first?' Julian asked.

'There are some junk stores around. Can we start there?' Evangeline asked, giving him the puppy dog eyes.

With a grin he nodded and they set off for the nearest store. The two had a knack for finding something special amongst what others thought of as junk. So it was no surprise that by the time they were done in each store, they managed to uncover a chess board with no pieces, which Julian said he would get Evangeline from another store; a pack of self sorting cards; a revealer; a pair of omnioculars with a missing lens which was easily fixed; a broken remembrall that resisted any attempts to fix it, though Julian was sure it just required a potion; and a bag that was enlarged inside. When they later checked inside they found to their delight that it contained a probity probe, a foe-glass, a set of two way mirrors, a secrecy sensor and a small sneakoscope. Obviously the last owner was a very cautious person. Julian also bought up all of the broken wands as a gift to his mother who could use the components in her potions.

Their next stop was the book store, where Evangeline happily picked up those on her list, plus a few others that weren't already in the Meadow's library. She was able to fit all of them in her new bag. The trunk store was next and a standard school trunk was bought and shrunk down to fit in Evangeline's bag. Then they bought parchment, ink, quills, potion ingredients and an advanced potion kit. Spending all that time with a potion mistress made both of them very efficient in the subject. Evangeline also picked up a lunascope and an astronomical model to help with astronomy. It was decided they would leave the uniforms until last and the two headed to the animal stores. They met up with Rose and Ebony who were admiring a snowy white owl. Evangeline thought it was gorgeous and that quickly made up Ebony's mind to buy it. He and his granny stuck around to see what Evangeline would find for a familiar. She couldn't find anything in the first store so they moved to the second. There she uncovered a Carbuncle right at the very back of the store. The little creature was the exact shade of turquoise as her and her daddy's eyes, its own eyes a bright blue with a red jewel on its head. She quickly bought fell in love with it. Rose mentioned to her that a Carbuncle wasn't on the pet list for Hogwarts, and that she would have to write to ask permission to bring it with her. Evangeline replied with a cheeky grin that if the Carbuncle wasn't allowed then she would just have to get a second pet. Julian ruffled her hair while Ebony laughed and said he wished he'd thought of that. They parted ways and Julian took Evangeline to Madam Malkin's. Half an hour later she was all kitted up and they arrived at the leaky cauldron with minutes to spare.

OOO

'Granny can we go to the book store first?' Ebony asked.

'Of course we can dear. Come on then' Rose replied and they weaved their way through the busy streets.

The Meadow library had a vast selection of books both magical and not, all held in bookcases enchanted with wizard space. It meant that apart from his school books, there were very few others that caught Ebony's eye. He did pick up one describing the A to Z of magical creatures, thinking it would be an interesting read and wanting to have a skill with animals like his big brother. He also spotted Hogwarts: A History and reached up to grab it. His hand collided with that of a bushy haired girl and they both jumped back.

'Sorry! Here you can have it' she offered.

'No that's ok, you go ahead. You got to it first' Ebony replied with a smile.

Smiling back the girl lifted it from the shelf.

'Maybe there's another copy. We could ask at the desk' she said.

He nodded and told his granny where he was going.

'My name's Ebony' he greeted.

'I'm Hermione Granger. I was ever so excited to get my letter. My parents don't have any magic you see. They were shocked when professor McGonagall came to our house. I'm really looking forward to going to Hogwarts' she rushed out.

Ebony grinned at her enthusiasm.

'My mum was like you, she had non magical parents as well. My dad was what wizards call a pureblood, so that sorta makes me a half blood'.

'Your mum was a muggleborn as well? How many muggleborns are there? I'd love to meet her' Hermione asked.

Ebony chewed his lip.

'You won't be able to meet her. See, she and my dad, died when I was a baby. I was adopted into another family'.

'Oh I'm sorry! That was stupid of me' Hermione whispered guiltily.

Ebony smiled at her.

'It's ok. I've been told lots of stories about them from my uncle and my godfather. And I've got lots of pictures of them. I'm happy with my granny and grampa. And when I was adopted I got a new sister and big brother. Evangeline my sister got her Hogwarts letter this year as well. She's with my brother Julian somewhere in Diagon Alley'.

Hermione gave him a small smile and they headed to the desk to ask the clerk about the book. The man found another copy and they rang up their purchases.

'So do you have any siblings Hermione? What do your parents do?' Ebony asked.

'They're dentists. And I'm an only child. I don't mind really, but I was bullied a lot at school and it would have been nice to have a brother or sister looking out for me' She replied.

Ebony shuddered.

'Sorry, I really don't like going to the dentist'.

She giggled.

'Not many people do. My dad works in the local offices while my mum's a private dentist'.

'Well at least that means free treatment for you huh?' Ebony said.

She nodded her agreement with a smile.

'I'm sorry you were bullied. Evangeline and I have a group of friends of all ages. You could hang around with us if you want. We won't bully you' he then offered.

She went wide eyed and chewed her lip.

'You really think they'd want me in the group?'

'Of course. All of us have different qualities. Evangeline and Luna, she's going to Hogwarts next year, they like to think outside the box. The twins Fred and George are third years, and they love to prank people. Harmless pranks though. Cedric's in Hufflepuff and he's really nice and good at quidditch. Ron's wicked good at chess and loves quidditch. Percy's very book smart, he's in fifth year and a prefect. And Ginny, who's also going to Hogwarts next year, she's a bit shy but a bit of a tom boy, you really don't want to mess with her. And then there's me, and I'm just…well me' Ebony said.

Hermione smiled shyly.

'I'd…I'd like that Ebony'.

'Miss Granger have you finished?' came a voice.

They both turned to find a stern looking woman watching them.

'Oh, yes professor. I'm done' Hermione replied.

She looked back at Ebony.

'It was nice meeting you. I'll see you on the train?'

'Nice meeting you as well. See you then' Ebony agreed.

He noticed the woman giving him a look and smiled politely as he went of in search of his granny.

'All done?' she asked.

'Yep. I met a new friend as well. Her name's Hermione. She doesn't really have many friends so I invited her to hang around with us when we get to Hogwarts' Ebony replied.

Rose smiled at her grandson.

'That's very nice of you dear. I'm sure she'll love making some new friends. Now then I'd say our next stop is Madam Malkin's'.

The rest of their shopping passed quickly. Ebony spotted Hermione a few times and waved at her on passing. The last thing on his list before lunch was to find a familiar. It didn't take him long to spot a beautiful snowy white owl. Evangeline and Julian met them in the store and convinced Ebony that the owl was perfect for him. They then waited to see what Evangeline would pick. Ebony grinned when his sister discovered a perfect familiar for her, and the Carbuncle was quickly snatched up. He and his granny left them and browsed a few more stores until it was time to meet up for lunch.

OOO

'I can't wait to get a wand! Fred and George keep showing off theirs. Mum says I would have got Charlie's old wand but instead I get to have my own!' Ron exclaimed excitedly.

Molly and Arthur smiled at their son. With Sirius Black free Amelia Bones started an investigation on how he got in Azkaban in the first place. Her findings led to a few dark hearted individuals loosing their high paid job. And after a rather long argument with the Minister over who should fill the positions, Fudge finally caved under Amelia's threats to have him thrown out of office and Arthur was promoted. The pay wasn't the highest in the world, but it did mean no more second hand shops and even a few treats for the family.

Ebony and Evangeline were just as excited as their friend. They'd been taught plenty of theory, and Evangeline was sometimes allowed to try simple spells with her daddy's wand, but to actually be able to do proper magic and have their own wands would be brilliant. The group entered Ollivander's and Ron eagerly went over and rang the bell. They waited a few moments. Ebony watched his older brother's gaze with a smile. No one, even those who were invisible, could get past Julian.

'Quite the crowd we have today'.

Ebony, Evangeline and Julian were the only ones who didn't jump when Mr Ollivander appeared.

'The Weasley family. A good set of strong bonded wands there. And the Lovegood family, good and flighty wands. And quite the unique wands of the Meadow family. So who would like to go first?' The old man asked with a smile.

Ron went first and after a while bonded with a fourteen inch willow with a Unicorn's hair core. While he stood waving it around and shooting out sparks at his brothers, Evangeline got measured for her wand.

'Very much like your father I see. I ran out of wands to give to young Julian. Created him quite the unusual one' Ollivander said after twenty minutes, handing the girl yet another wand.

Evangeline took it but felt nothing. A bit downhearted she glanced at Julian.

'Don't worry. Wands are tricky at times. You'll find one' he reassured.

'Indeed' Mr Ollivander agreed.

He headed to the back of his shop and they heard him rummaging about.

'The bark of the weeping willow is a rare wood to use for a wand. It is the tree of dreaming, intuition and deep emotions. Wands made from it are usually classed as light wands. However the weeping willow wands are actually good for grey magic. It's hard to find a core match for such a wood. Hmm…' he was heard muttering as he browsed.

Evangeline looked up at her daddy as the old man pottered away.

'You got weeping willow didn't you? What core did you get daddy?'

Julian fidgeted a little.

'I…well I…'

He was saved from answering as Mr Ollivander came back.

'I believe this one might do. It's an odd combination, and made on a whim. Ten inches, weeping willow with a single strand of hair from a young black Unicorn. The only one of its kind'.

He held it out and Evangeline closed her hand round it. She felt a rush of power as silver sparks sprung from it. Mr Ollivander clapped his hands looking pleased.

'Very good! Now then who is next?'

Grinning Evangeline pushed Ebony forward. Nervously he reached out for the first offered wand. An hour later and the group were starting to get bored. Mr Ollivander however was becoming more and more excited. At least someone was Ebony thought to himself, handing back what seemed like the hundredth wand.

'Perhaps this one. Holly with a Phoenix feather' Mr Ollivander mused, handing over the wand.

Ebony reached out to take it, only to jump back in horror when it exploded.

'Wicked!' the twins grinned.

'I'm sorry! I'll pay for it!' Ebony cried.

The old man though looked ready to jump up and down with glee.

'I believe Mr Meadow that you might be in need of a custom wand. Come, come follow me'.

He turned and walked off without another word, muttering happily to himself. Bemused Jonathan led Ebony to the back of the shop.

'Ah, it's always good to make a wand from scratch. Not had much made these past few years. Alright then Mr Meadow, over there are samples of wood from just about every tree available. I'd like you to reach out and have a feel of them. Any that seem to jump into your hand you bring to me' Mr Ollivander said.

Nodding Ebony went over to the huge display of wood. He reached out and ran his fingers gently over them, waiting to see what would react. It took a while but eventually one literally did jump into his hand. He double checked to be sure before bringing the wood over to Mr Ollivander.

'Well now let's see. Ah, this particular piece was harvested by my great great grandfather by a relatively young but rather stubborn hornbeam tree. Not a rare tree but a sturdy one, nevertheless a rare wood to be used in wand making. In fact I believe I've only ever had four pieces in stock. A wand made from this will be a very strong partner, and very temperamental to anyone other than its owner. I wouldn't recommend letting your friends borrow it, the results may not be pretty. Now that we have our wood, we need a core. Over there is all the cores I and my family have gathered over the years. This time I want you to try to reach out with your magic and get a feel for them. You may find more than one core will respond' he said with a grin.

Ebony nodded and headed to the rows of shelves. Most of the cores he recognised as his granny used them in her potions. A few, such as feathers, he couldn't figure out what being they came from. Nothing at first called to him, which was a pity as he quite liked the look of some of the phoenix feathers and shimmering scales. Eventually though he was drawn towards a glass jar. He peered inside, not entirely sure what he was looking at. Shrugging he picked the jar up and continued. The second item that called to him he correctly identified as a Dragon heartstring. Nothing else was calling to him so he took the two cores back to Mr Ollivander. The old man took the jars from him and examined them.

'You certainly like to shake things up. Very much like your siblings. Ash from a Lethifold. An exceedingly hard ingredient to get as such creatures aren't killed easily. One would automatically assume it would mean a dark wand, but that is not the case. The first Lethifold was created accidentally by a witch, and at first was used for good. Her child had been taken with an illness and she desperately needed a blanket to help keep the child warm while she gathered the necessary ingredients to create a cure. Her magic reacted to her need and a living blanket was made. With relief she tucked it around the child and left to see to a cure. This living blanket at first merely had the desire to keep those in its folds warm and comforted. However when the witch made her desperate plea, the only substance around her that could be used was the shadows themselves. And shadows have a way of changing. It didn't take long for the living blanket to begin curling itself a bit too tightly around the child, or start to cover the child from head to toe. Eventually the witch realised the dangers and threw it out. It searched for a new child to curl round, and as it did it took in a bit of each shadow it passed through. With too much shadow, it split into two. Two became four, and so on until there were hundreds of them. And with each new living blanket, another child was in danger of being smothered. When a child wasn't found, they curled themselves round adults, slowly but surely becoming the creatures we know as Lethifolds today. The name Lethifold is quite new, only a hundred or so years old'.

'Wow!' Ebony gasped in fascination.

'That's quite the history lesson' Jonathan agreed in amazement.

Mr Ollivander chuckled.

'Yes we research into all of our ingredients. Quite a pity that the story doesn't tell us how to stop the creatures. I confess that I haven't a clue how the one to provide the ash was killed. The other core has quite the story as well. A heartstring from a White Lightning Dragon. A small beast in comparison to others, but one of the most fierce when it wanted to be. The species just seemed to appear out of nowhere. A blazing white Dragon with the palest of blue under its wings. People used to say it could travel through time due to its immense speed. There is a legend that at a time of great suffering, a White Lightning appeared to end the fighting and stop the killings. I do believe it has a shrine somewhere in Japan'.

'So, what would that mean, for me I mean?' Ebony asked curiously, staring with wonder at the heartstring.

'It would mean that this wand will be quite unique, as you are. The bond between you and it will be incredibly strong and it will be able to tune itself to your emotions. In a pinch it will provide the needed burst of speed, and I daresay even the smallest spell will be done in a big way' the old man replied with a grin.

He went over to his workstation and set up a small cauldron. Ebony and Jonathan went over to watch him work.

'I shall eagerly await the next Meadow to walk through my doors with wands like these' Mr Ollivander chuckled as he shook the ash into the cauldron.

Ebony glanced to Jonathan.

'Grampa. What core did Julian get? And why didn't he want to say?'

Jonathan smiled and ruffled Ebony's hair.

'It wasn't that he didn't want to say. You see Mr Ollivander had exhausted his wands in stock so decided to create a custom wand for Julian. However none of the cores responded to him, no matter what he did' he explained.

'Yes it was quite frustrating for the lad. I mentioned that perhaps some form of creature blood may be the cause. Quite the surprise I got when I was told exactly what creature type the lad had' Mr Ollivander continued as he worked.

Jonathan chuckled.

'Yes we may have scared a few years from you. You see Ebony when Mr Ollivander was told Julian was part Demon he asked to see the Demon side. Demon seemed to understand that we were there to get a wand, and actually scoffed at all the cores before picking up the block of weeping willow and providing his own core'.

'I shall never forget that encounter. A Demon, mocking my ability to match wands with magical folk! To be truthful I'm not even sure there is an actual core in young Mr Meadow's wand. It has been infused with Demon magic. Quite simply one of the most magnificent wands I've created, and all I did was shape the block of wood' Mr Ollivander laughed.

'Oh. So wait does that mean that because of Demon, Julian can now use Demon magic through his wand?' Ebony asked.

'I believe so' Jonathan replied.

The conversation ended when Mr Ollivander brought out Ebony's wand. It was a thing of beauty. The hornbeam shaped in a spiral that seemed to reflect the light, with the handle carved out to resemble a large leaf curled round it. Ebony could see a speckle of light at the tip.

'There we are. The wood of the hornbeam tree with Lethifold ash and White Lightning Dragon heartstring. I took the liberty of placing a tiny emerald at the tip. It serves no real purpose but I believe it gives the wand a nice finish'.

He held it out and Ebony slowly took it. It felt as though every cell in his body was charged with electricity and he watched in awe as it shot out gold sparks. Mr Ollivander clapped.

'Very good! I can see you doing great things, Mr Meadow'.

He led the two back out to the front of the shop.

'About time!' Ron exclaimed in relief.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Albus had tried everything to find Harry. The Dursleys were blaming him, Sirius refused to cooperate, where Black lived was under a fidelius, Miss Parker was being a pain, and no matter what he did he couldn't find this Jonathan Meadow character. As the years went on he became more and more frustrated. But finally it was time for the boy to come to Hogwarts. He tried to get a peek at Harry's letter, but he couldn't find a single one with the name Harry Potter. If he'd looked a bit further, he would have come across one for Ebony Meadow. To pacify himself, Albus pestered Minerva until she finally told him that all the letters had been sent back with confirmation. It was something. Once he got the boy inside the school he'd be able to mould him into the perfect weapon. He'd already sent Hagrid out to get the stone, hinting that Harry may be in Diagon Alley that day. However when the half giant returned with his precious cargo, he reported that he'd not seen the boy anywhere. It was more than annoying to be kept in the dark.

OOO

'Everyone better have everything because we don't have time to go back!' Molly called.

She sighed with relief when she got a positive response and crouched to fuss over a protesting Ron.

'I'll miss you daddy. I'll write as much as I can' Evangeline said quietly into her daddy's shoulder.

'Miss you too angel' Julian whispered, hugging her tightly.

'Behave yourself and don't get up to mischief' Rose warned playfully as she hugged Ebony.

'Mischief is over there with Rascal' he giggled, pointing to the twins.

She gave him a playful swipe.

'You know what I mean'.

He grinned and turned to his godfather while she went over to hug his sister. He remembered the day they'd all found their animagus forms like it was yesterday.

 _*Flashback*_

'Has everyone got their potion?'

There was a chorus of yes and most held their vial up as proof. Sirius grinned.

'Alright then. Now that all of you have seen your form, that no one has seen fit to share with us adults, it's time to transform!'

'Sirius I know you're dying to see their forms but Ebony, Ron and Evangeline are only ten. And then there's Luna and Ginny. Are you sure it will work?' Arthur asked.

'It'll work fine. Rose and Selene made the potions. And the kid's have been practicing this for nearly a year now' the younger man replied. He looked back to the group.

'On the count of three, everyone drink up. One…two…'

Fred snuck a smoke bomb out of George's pocket.

'Three!'

The entire place was shrouded in thick black smoke. Coughing the adult quickly cleared it away.

'Fred! George! You two troublemakers are…!'

Molly's rant ended as they realised there were a bunch of animals sitting where the kids used to be, all with eyes closed.

'Prongs!' both Sirius and Remus breathed.

The young stag let out a noise of protest, and some of the others gave the animal version of a snigger. Snorting Ebony opened his eyes and wobbly got to his feet, admiring himself. The other animals seemed to be waiting in anticipation.

'It would appear as though they may have switched places when that smoke bomb was dropped. Looks like we have a guessing game on our hands' Jonathan chuckled.

When each kid had seen what form they'd be during meditation they all secretly agreed not to let the adults know and pull the whole thing off as a big prank. The adults examined the group.

'The hare is our Luna' Selene said with a smile.

'You sure?' Sirius asked.

'Oh we're quite positive. She's an arctic hare I believe' Xenophilius chuckled

The little white hare nodded and opened her eyes. A little shakily she bounded over to her parents. Just at that the white cockatoo turned itself pink.

'Tonks' just about everyone said at once.

Nymphadora let out a squawk version of a huff and ruffled her wings, cursing her ability. The adults chuckled and looked to the rest of the group.

'I have a suspicion about that long eared owl. Percy?' Jonathan remarked.

The owl bobbed his head and hooted proudly, opening his large beady eyes.

'I have got to know who the komodo dragon is! That is brilliant!' Sirius exclaimed.

'I believe the clue is in the name. Isn't that right Charlie?' Remus replied with a grin.

The huge beast made a noise of agreement and gave a loud hiss as he opened his eyes.

'Wicked! That fits you perfectly Charlie. Wait until the guys at the reserve see you' Sirius laughed.

'Well that's five down. Any other obvious ones?' Ted asked.

'Well we have a group of red furred animals here. Good place to start' Andromeda pointed out.

'Yes but a few too little for our lot. Especially since we already know Percy and Charlie' Molly replied.

'I'm going to go out of a limb here and say the lion's your Bill' Rose remarked.

Bill opened his eyes and roared with pride.

'That would be a yes' Selene laughed.

'I just realised we're missing one. And I have a feeling I know who. Fred or George, where are you?' Arthur then said.

At first no-one moved. Then a small furry head appeared from under Bill's thick mane. The squirrel chattered with laughter and clambered down to stand beside his brother.

'We have our twins. Are we ever going to tell them apart?' Molly sighed with a smile.

'I have a feeling the tiger is female' Selene mused dreamily.

'Is that you Ginny?' Remus asked.

She purred happily and stood, making her way carefully to her parents. The adult looked toward the three remaining animals.

'Guys I give up. Come on open your eyes!' Sirius pleaded after a while.

The three made noises of amusement and did as told.

'We have turquoise eyes here. That means the jack russell terrier is Ron' Jonathan said.

The little dog yapped and bounded over, tripping over his feet and tumbling head over heels. He sat up and shook himself out of his daze before trotting more carefully over.

'Alright, so which is Julian and which is Evangeline?' Sirius asked.

They all examined the red fox and the panther. The two gave nothing away.

'I've got a galleon on the panther being Evangeline' Jonathan said.

'I'll take that bet' Xenophilius piped up.

'No I think the fox is Evangeline' Andromeda said.

'This really is a tough choice' Rose said thoughtfully.

'I've got my galleon on the fox as Evangeline' Sirius said.

Together the adults made their choice and pulled out their galleons.

'Alright you two. Help us out here' Sirius then asked.

The two looked to each other, then the panther stood and padded over to Luna. The hare stood on her hind legs to greet her friend. The fox stood and stretched, then went over to Nymphadora and lowered his head to allow her to flap up onto his back.

'Pay up Sirius!' Jonathan laughed.

The winnings were split and the group watched as the kids got used to their new forms.

'Hey, you guys need names!' Sirius suddenly exclaimed.

The group groaned.

 _*End flashback*_

'Have fun kiddo. Go prank a few professors with Junior'.

'He'll be doing no such thing! Junior will only be used in emergencies' Jonathan scolded with a grin.

Ebony laughed and hugged his grampa.

'Remember what I said about the headmaster. Keep your mind closed to him, and let us know if anyone bothers you or your sister' the man said quietly.

'I will grampa. I promise' Ebony replied.

He grinned as he saw Hermione's face. He'd spotted her and her parents by the archway and introductions were made all around before they all passed through the barrier. She looked a little overwhelmed.

'You ok Hermione?'

'I'm fine Ebony. I just didn't realise when you said your friends you meant this many people' she replied.

'If you think this is bad you should see us at Christmas when we're all here' he said.

She gave him a stunned look.

'There are more?!'

He laughed and nodded.

'Yep. Bill's Mr and Mrs Weasley's oldest son and he's in Egypt at the moment. Charlie's their second oldest and he's in Romania working with Dragons. Then there's Aunt Andromeda, Uncle Ted and Nymphadora, their daughter. Just don't call her that to her face, she doesn't like her first name. She prefers Tonks, that's her second name' he explained.

Hermione nodded slowly as she took it all in. And she thought her family reunions were big with twelve people.

Finally the hugs and kissed were over and the group got onto the train and found a compartment. They waved to their parents and friends from the window as the train pulled away from the station.

OOO

'Well kiddies…' George said.

'Time we headed off' Fred continued.

They gave a bow and left the compartment. Ron rolled his eyes.

'Absolutely mental those two'.

'So what house do you think you'll be in? I'm hoping to get into Gryffindor. It's the house Albus Dumbledore was in. What is that?' Hermione gushed out.

Evangeline giggled as her Carbuncle decided to come flying out her pocket. It buzzed around the group, wowing Hermione who had never seen such a creature before.

'This is Sapphire. He's my familiar'.

'Oh. I've never seen one of those before. But I thought you were only allowed a cat, owl or a toad' Hermione said.

'That is true but sometimes we're allowed others. If you've got something different you need to write to ask a member of staff for permission. As long as it's not a danger to students most professors will be ok with it. Sapphire here's not the slightest bit dangerous so professor McGonagall said it would be fine if I brought him' Evangeline explained.

Hermione nodded in understanding, then looked to the boys.

'Do you have a familiar?'

'I've got an owl. He's called Pigwidgeon, or Pig for short. Percy has an owl called Hermes. Fred and George haven't got familiars. Though with them that's probably a good thing' Ron replied.

'I've got an owl as well. She's called Hedwig. Both she, Pig and Hermes are flying to Hogwarts. They didn't fancy being stuffed inside a cage in the animal compartment all day' Ebony continued.

'I wish I had a familiar. Dad says I might be able to get one next year though' Hermione sighed.

'Well I'm sure Hedwig wouldn't mind delivering letters for you' Ebony said.

She smiled.

'Oh that would be nice. Thank you. I'm really nervous about learning magic. I've already read all of the books on the list'.

'All of them?!' Ron cried.

Evangeline giggled.

'Ebony and I have read them as well Ron. It's always better to be prepared'.

The red head slumped back against his seat.

'Mental!' he muttered.

'By the way. To answer your question, we're not sure what house we'll be in. But it doesn't really matter. We've all agreed that no matter what house we're in, we'll always be friends' Evangeline then said.

'And you shouldn't pick a house just because someone famous has been in it. Otherwise everyone would be swarming to go into Slytherin because of Merlin' Ebony followed.

'I didn't know Merlin was in Slytherin!' Hermione exclaimed.

'I know! We were the same when we read about it. Actually, we all thought Merlin came before the founder's time!' Ebony laughed.

'I think he pranked them and de aged just so he could go to Hogwarts as a student' Evangeline giggled.

Hermione smiled, then looked thoughtful.

'Well I suppose it really doesn't matter. I guess I'd probably be in Ravenclaw judging by the requirements'.

They looked up at the door slid open.

'Um…e…excuse me…h…have any of you seen a toad?' a nervous looking boy asked.

'Sorry we haven't. But if you want Sapphire here could find him for you' Evangeline offered.

'R…really?!' the boy said in surprise.

'Of course. What's the toad's name?' Evangeline asked.

'T…Trevor' the boy replied.

'Alright. Sapphire could you go and find Trevor the toad please?' Evangeline asked.

The little creature hummed in agreement and floated out the door. Ebony invited the boy to sit with them while the Carbuncle searched.

'I'm Ebony Meadow. This is my sister Evangeline and this is Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley' he greeted.

'I…I'm Neville Longbottom' the boy replied shyly.

'Oh, I know that name' Ebony said, then sighed sadly as he remembered what Sirius told him about the Longbottoms.

'I'm sorry about your parents, Neville. I've been told they and my parents were friends'.

'They w…were?! I...I've never heard of the Meadow family before' Neville asked in surprise, and a hint of sadness.

Ebony nodded, then turned to Hermione.

'I'm going to tell you both something. It's important and I think its best you knew before we get to Hogwarts. I know we just met Neville but I want us to be friends like our parents were, ok?'

The boy looked stunned but nodded, as did Hermione.

'You see the Meadow family adopted me as their grandson. My parents, are James and Lily Potter'.

The two looked at him in amazement.

'Wait, does that mean you are Harry Potter?!' Hermione cried.

Both Ron and Ebony quickly shushed her and she closed her mouth in embarrassment.

'Yes that used to be my name. To make sure I didn't forget my parents, my full name is Ebony James Potter Meadow. When my parents were killed I was brought to my aunt and uncle's home. They treated me horribly and they didn't like magic. Before I met Evangeline and my brother Julian I thought my name was Boy or Freak'.

He paused as both Hermione and Neville gasped.

'It was the headmaster Albus Dumbledore that took me to their home. He didn't once check up on me and he ignored my parent's Wills'.

He looked to Neville.

'I could have been your brother growing up Neville, if he'd done what my parents wanted'.

Neville stared at him wide eyed. His gran had always said how good Albus Dumbledore was and how he fought hard for the light. If Harry…Ebony was telling the truth then it meant that the headmaster wasn't as good as people thought.

'But he's Albus Dumbledore! Surely he just made a mistake' Hermione protested.

Ebony shook his head.

'My grampa said that Dumbledore was there as a witness when my parents wrote their Wills, so he knew that I shouldn't have gone to the Dursleys. I mean my godfather Sirius was in prison at the time but if I couldn't go to him then I should have gone to the Longbottom family or the Tonks family. I don't know why but he deliberately put me in a place where people hated me' he said bitterly.

He shook himself out of it as Ron put a hand on his shoulder.

'When we get to Hogwarts the whole school will probably learn that I used to be called Harry Potter. And I just know it's going to cause problems. I have a feeling you two can be trusted which is why I told you before everyone else found out. I haven't been Harry Potter since I was three. Actually, I haven't been Harry Potter since my parents died, since that was the last time someone called me that name. I'm just Ebony Meadow, and I'm hoping that's who you will be friends with'.

Hermione and Neville looked at each other. They'd only met minutes ago, but they both realised just how important this was. Neville was always put down by his family when he was growing up, so he knew how Ebony must have felt living with the Dursleys. To know that he could have had a brother on his side made him feel angry at those who had failed Ebony. It was settled for him. He may be shy, but Ebony wanted him and that filled him with determination.

'Ebony I would be glad to be your brother. And that goes for you too Evangeline. No matter what, I'll be at your side'.

His courage left him when Evangeline jumped up and hugged him tightly. He was a stammering blushing mess by the time she sat back down. Ebony laughed and pulled him into a one armed hug.

'Thanks Neville. You're the best!'

Hermione had already seen Ebony's family. They were friendly warm caring people. She was glad they were able to take Ebony away from his horrible relatives. And to know that Ebony trusted her to tell her this filled her with pride. She would be the best friend she could be.

'I already see you as Ebony Meadow. I was just surprised when I learned your old name. Sorry about that. I'd be honored to be included in your group of friends'.

She also received a hug for her efforts. It was broken when Sapphire flew back in with Trevor hot on his heels.

'Trevor!' Neville cried happily and scooped his familiar up.

Evangeline giggled when Sapphire flew round her head.

'He says Trevor doesn't like being in a train much and wanted some fresh air'.

'You can understand your familiar?!' Neville asked in amazement.

She nodded.

'If a Carbuncle has a close bond with someone then they can talk with them. Sapphire found Trevor at the back of the train, trying to open the door. He explained that if the door was opened then Trevor might fall off the train, and that you were worried about him. He says Trevor will be ok as long as he has a nice large swampy tank to sleep in after the train ride'.

Neville lifted his familiar up to eye level.

'Sorry Trevor, I didn't know you'd be scared. I'll get you the biggest tank I can and fill it with all sorts of things for you to hide under'.

The toad made a noise of contentment and happily jumped into Neville's pocket. The boy thanked Sapphire who crooned with delight. They looked over as the door slid open and a woman with a cart stopped at their compartment.

'Anything off the trolley dears?'

'Ooh yes please! I'll have two chocolate frogs and two sugar quills please' Evangeline replied with a grin.

'Can I have two chocolate frogs and a box of bertie bott's every flavour beans please?' Ebony followed, digging out some money.

'Five chocolate frogs please. I've only got a few more cards to hunt down' Ron said.

'A pumpkin pastie and a liquorice wand please' Neville asked.

'Those aren't real frog, are they?' Hermione asked warily.

Ebony thanked the woman and turned to his friend.

'It's just a spell that makes them hop. They're hollow chocolate and there's a collectable card in each box. Most of the sweets are just what the name says'.

'Oh. Well I'll try a chocolate frog please. Hmm, and a pumpkin pastie' Hermione said and brought out some sickles'.

'There you are dearies. Enjoy' the woman said with a smile and pushed her cart off to the next compartment.

Before they could tuck into their treats the door opened again.

'Oh, so it's you Weasley. And Meadow, and the squib. Why Hogwarts ever allowed you in Longbottom is beyond me' Draco drawled.

Ebony groaned to himself as Ron looked ready to start a fight with the blonde. Neville just looked away in embarrassment.

'Neville you're not a squib. In fact I bet you'll be one of the strongest people in our year' Evangeline soothed.

Draco snorted. His goons Crabbe and Goyle sniggered.

'Yeah, like a squib will ever be stronger than me. And who are you?'

Evangeline smiled brightly and stood. Behind her Ebony and Ron gave each other grins and settled back to enjoy the show.

'Hi my name's Evangeline, I'm Ebony's sister. I'm really excited to be going to Hogwarts, aren't you just so excited? What house do you think you'll be in? Oh wait you're part of the Malfoy family. I suppose that mean Slytherin then. Well maybe not I mean just because your family has all been in Slytherin doesn't mean you will. I guess we'll just have to see. I bet you've read all the books for this year, I have. So's my brother and Hermione. I have a feeling the three of us will be in Ravenclaw but you just never know. Hey did you get some sweets of the cart? I love chocolate frogs I could eat them all day if my daddy let me. He wouldn't though, I have to stay healthy. So what do you do for fun then Draco? I like to draw and I do martial arts, but I'm never going to be as good as my daddy, he's the best. You dress really posh like so I bet you do things like horse riding. Do you fly yet? I'm ok at flying but Ebony's amazing, he can even beat Charlie and he used to be on the school team. Fred and George are on the team and Ebony can fly rings round them. They just laugh though. They're really hoping Ebony gets into Gryffindor so he can be on their quidditch team. They keep forgetting about Ron though, he's really good at flying as well, I think he'd make a good keeper. Oh are you leaving, that's a shame, I was hoping we could sit and talk some more. Here let me get the door for you'.

And at that a flustered Draco found himself locked out of the compartment. Evangeline sat back down with a giggle and stuck a sugar quill in her mouth. Ebony and Ron burst out laughing as Hermione and Neville's mouths hung open in amazement.

'What you've just seen is my sister's way of getting rid of annoying bullies. It's really effective' Ebony sniggered.

Neville snapped out of it first and started laughing. He was closely followed by Hermione.

'That was pretty effective'.

Evangeline just smiled and sucked on her sugar quill.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

'No more th'n four to a boat!' the huge man hollered.

Evangeline smiled and decided to share a boat with a pair of twins and a blonde haired girl. That allowed Ebony, Neville, Ron and Hermione to share a boat. They waved to Evangeline as they floated across the lake.

'I'm so nervous. I hope I fit in' Hermione mumbled.

'You'll be fine. It was supposed to stay a secret, but Sirius told me all you have to do is wear a hat and it will check what qualities you have and then sort you based on them. But if you think you really won't be happy with the house it prefers, you can say so and the hat will take that into account. That's what Sirius did, all his family has gone into Slytherin and he didn't want that, so he asked to go with his friends in Gryffindor' Ebony explained.

That made her settle with relief and they enjoyed the boat ride.

'Wow! Ron gasped when they spotted the castle. It really was impressive, almost glowing in the darkness.

'You can say that again!' Neville said in awe.

The boats went under an archway into a small bay. The students clambered out and Hagrid led them up the stairs and into the entrance hall. They were met there by the woman Ebony saw in the book shop.

'Welcome to Hogwarts. My name is professor McGonagall. Now in a few moments you will pass through these doors and be sorted into your houses. They are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. While you are at Hogwarts, your house will be like your family. Your triumphs will earn you points, any rule breaking and you will loose points. Please wait here until we prepare for your arrival' she said and slipped through the doors to the great hall.

'Enjoy the boat ride? I thought the castle view was amazing' Evangeline asked.

The others nodded in agreement. They glanced over as Draco started talking.

'So much for the great Harry Potter being here this year. Looks like all the rumours were wrong about him surviving. My father says that great oaf Hagrid must have been drunk that night'.

Ebony rolled his eyes and the group grinned.

'I can't wait to see his face!' Ron whispered.

'You're wrong Malfoy! Everyone knows he survived' someone called.

Draco scoffed.

'Then why isn't he here? If he is still alive then he's a coward for not showing up'.

He smirked when some of them screamed, then realised they were looking behind them and jumped back in fright when the ghosts of Hogwarts made an appearance. They spoke briefly to the new students until professor McGonagall came back.

'We're ready for you now, follow me please'.

She led the group through the doors and down to the front of the hall. Around them other students chatted to friends or watched the newcomers. Above hung what must have been hundreds of candles, and above that it almost looked like there was no ceiling, as they could see the dark clouds of the night sky.

'The ceiling is enchanted to look like that you know. Rowena Ravenclaw herself created the spell' Hermione pointed out when she noticed Ron staring at it.

'Really?! Where'd you hear that?' he replied in wonder.

'It's in Hogwarts: A History' Hermione and Evangeline answered together, then looked at each other and giggled.

'Gather here please' professor McGonagall called, bringing their attention back to her.

'When I call your name you will come up here, I'll place the sorting hat on your head, and you'll be sorted into your house. Hannah Abbott!'

A shy looking girl crept forward and sat nervously on the stool. The hat was placed on her head, and a few moments later it called out 'HUFFLEPUFF!' to her relief. Her robes changed to show the badger symbol and she was waved to the Hufflepuff table as Professor McGonagall called the next name.

The group politely clapped when each person was sorted. When Hermione's name was called she took a deep breath and stepped up to the stool. A few moments later the hat called out.

'RAVENCLAW!'

Ebony and the other cheered as she sighed and jumped off the stool, heading for her house. Neville had to be given a gentle push when his name came up. He stumbled over and nervously sat down. The hat took some time with him, but eventually called out.

'GRYFFINDOR!'

He stood up, handed the hat over and practically ran to the bench. He managed a small smile when his friends cheered for him.

'Evangeline Meadow!' professor McGonagall called.

'I guess that means your old name's on the list' Ron whispered as she went over.

Ebony nodded with a sigh and watched his sister's sorting.

'RAVENCLAW!' the hat called after a minute or so.

Evangeline gave her brother a cheeky smile and headed over to join Hermione. He stuck his tongue out at her with a grin.

'Are you going to go up if she calls you?' Ron asked.

'Not if she calls me Harry' Ebony replied.

Sure enough a while later, professor McGonagall called out.

'Harry Potter!'

The hall went silent, some craning their heads to catch a glimpse of the boy who lived. Ebony didn't move though, and the silence stretched out.

'Harry Potter!' professor McGonagall called again.

Albus frowned. When the name Meadow was called he instantly perked up, but the child turned out to be female so he went back to his brooding. Where was Harry?

Professor McGonagall turned to him for a moment, then looked back to the group and called out the next name on the list.

'Good luck' Ebony whispered when Ron's name was called.

The red head gave him a nervous smile and went up. The hat was hardly on his head for a few seconds before calling out.

'Ah ha! Another Weasley, I know just what to do with you. GRYFFINDOR!'

Ebony cheered as Ron handed the hat and bolted for his table, getting pulled into congratulatory pats on the back by his brothers.

Another boy was then sorted before professor McGonagall turned to the lone student left. She recognised him as the boy Miss Granger had met in Diagon Alley. The shoulder length slightly wavy hair was tied back neatly with a ribbon and his bright green eyes shone out. She had little doubt as to who he was, even if he didn't have his scar, so why didn't he answer when his name was called?

'Perhaps you'd care to explain why you didn't come up when your name was called?' she asked.

Albus perked up at that and finally noticed the black haired green eyed child. At last!

'I'm sorry professor, but my name wasn't called' Ebony replied politely.

She frowned. Albus took this moment to stand and address the child.

'If I'm not mistaken, Harry Potter was called' he said with a serene smile.

The hall burst into whispers.

'That's Harry Potter?!'

'Why didn't he go up when he was called?'

'He doesn't look much like Harry Potter'.

Draco looked like he'd choked on a lemon drop.

'That's true sir, but I'm not Harry Potter, so why would I respond when that name was called?' Ebony replied.

'And what might your name be?' professor McGonagall asked.

'Ebony Meadow ma'am. I should have gone before my sister' he replied, nodding his head to Evangeline.

'Ebony…Meadow…?' she said softly, then shook herself out of it.

'Very well them, if you wouldn't mind coming up here'.

He nodded and stepped up, sitting on the stool and waiting for the hat to be placed on his head.

' _So we meet at last, Mr Meadow. You've caused the headmaster quite some grief over the years'._

' _Well maybe if he hadn't placed me with people who hated me I wouldn't have caused him problems'_ Ebony replied.

The hat chuckled.

' _You hold close to that family of yours child. They'll keep you safe. Well now, I've had a look through that bright mind of yours, and I have no doubt as to where I should put you._ RAVENCLAW!'

Ebony waited for the hat to be removed before heading over to sit with Hermione and his sister. The hall was stunned into silence for a moment, before Ravenclaw house seemed to unanimously realise they got Harry Potter and started cheering.

'Yay! You think uncle Sirius and Remus will be surprised?' Evangeline cheered.

Ebony grinned at her and nodded.

Albus gave his speech and sat as the food appeared. This was going to be a problem. Being in Ravenclaw was surprising, but nothing was mentioned about a sister. He had to speak with Harry as soon as he could to sort this out.

'Care to explain why Harry Potter now calls himself Ebony Meadow? I was assured he was safe with the Dursleys?' Minerva asked, a hint of steel in her voice.

The other professors leaned in to hear his answer, well all but Severus, who simply sneered. Albus groaned inwardly. Great, now he had an angry lioness on his hands.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Ebony had barely got himself settled when he was given a message to come up to the headmaster's office.

'Damn! I was so sure he'd wait until tomorrow' Evangeline grumbled and handed over a galleon.

Hermione looked bemused as Ebony grinned and pocketed it.

'You two are mad!' she giggled.

'It wouldn't be fun otherwise' Evangeline replied with a grin.

Hermione rolled her eyes, then frowned when Ebony crumpled the parchment and tossed it into the bin.

'Aren't you going?' she asked.

He shook his head.

'I wasn't told where his office is, I'm a new first year yet no one came to escort me to his office, and he addressed the note to Mr Potter. If he wants to see me he's going to have to realise that I'm not Harry Potter any more' he said.

Hermione couldn't find fault with that, so she and Evangeline bid him goodnight and they headed to their rooms.

The next day there was even more fun. The trio joined Ron and Neville in the Gryffindor table.

'Get settled in ok?' Ebony asked.

'Yeah. I was so sure I'd be put into Hufflepuff' Neville replied.

'What's wrong with Hufflepuff? It's the house of loyalty, plus Helga Hufflepuff was one strong witch' Evangeline said.

'A friend of ours was in Hufflepuff and she's a brilliant auror' Ebony then said.

'Really?' Neville asked.

'Yep. Her name's Nymphadora Tonks. Though she doesn't like her first name and prefers to be called Tonks. Only my daddy's lucky enough, or would that be brave enough, to call her Nymph' Evangeline said.

Neville nodded thoughtfully. The conversation was interrupted when the headmaster approached the group.

'You three should be sitting at your own table. Mr Potter did you not get the note to come up to my office?'

'It doesn't say anywhere in the rules that we have to sit at our own table, unless there's an important function on' Evangeline said innocently.

Albus sighed but put on a smile.

'That may be true but your head of house will be handing out your class schedules and it would be easier on them if you were at you own table' he said.

'Oh, well that makes sense. We'll see you later guys' Evangeline said and the trio grabbed their plates and headed over to the eagle's table.

'Mr Potter, you haven't answered my question' Albus called.

Ebony ignored him as the trio sat and started talking. The headmaster looked at the group incredulously. The boy was ignoring him! Him! Albus Dumbledore! He was not going to stand for that! Albus went over.

'Mr Potter. I would like to see you in my office' he said firmly.

Once more he was ignored.

'Mr Potter this charade has gone on long enough. Kindly come with me so that we might discuss your behaviour and your running away from your relatives'.

'I wonder which houses will get paired up. Do you think our professors will be nice?' Hermione asked, swallowing her nerves as she played along with her friends.

'We've been told by Fred and George that normally Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff pair up in transfiguration, potions, flying class and a few others. Ravenclaw and Gryffindor pair up in history though so we can sit with our friends then' Ebony replied.

'They also said our potions professor's a bit mean, and unfair to everyone except Slytherin. He's their head of house' Evangeline said.

'Mr Potter!' Albus exclaimed.

He would not be disrespected by children!

'Hey want to check out the library after classes?' Hermione asked.

She received twin nods of agreement before Ebony let out a yell.

'You will escort me to my office immediately Mr Potter!' Albus growled lowly, pulling at Ebony's arm.

Ebony pulled himself away and scowled at the man.

'I have been here less than a day and already I find I need to write home and complain about a professor assaulting me!'

'Assaulting you! Mr Potter that is enough!' Albus said in disbelief.

'If you are going to address me you will do so using my real name. And yes headmaster, assaulting me. You grabbed my arm and tried to drag me from the hall'.

'What in the world is going on here?!' came a voice.

They all turned as professor Flitwick came over.

'Mr Potter here is deliberately and rudely ignoring me when I requested that he come to my office for a discussion' Albus explained.

'And what exactly is there to discuss?' the tiny professor replied, arms crossed.

Albus spluttered for a moment.

'He…he is being very disrespectful towards his headmaster'.

'That's not true professor' Evangeline piped up.

'The headmaster here insists on calling my brother Mr Potter. Ebony name was changed to Meadow when he was three, and his Hogwarts letter had his new name on it. He knew a lot of people would try to hound him when he came here, so decided that he would ignore them. If the headmaster would address Ebony with his real name then my brother would answer. And since he hasn't done anything wrong he shouldn't need to go to the headmaster's office' she continued.

'I see' professor Flitwick hummed.

He then rounded on Albus.

'Miss Meadow is correct. Mr Meadow had barely set foot in the door, he shouldn't have any reason to join you in your office. And I see no reason not to call him by his given name'.

He looked back to the group and smiled.

'As it happens the name Mr Potter is on your class schedule. I can't imagine why this is so if your letter was addressed to Mr Ebony Meadow. I thought you might appreciate it being changed. Here you go. My name is Professor Flitwick and I'm your head of house and the charms professor. If you require anything during your stay in the house of the eagles then either come to me or a prefect'.

'Thank you sir' the trio said as they were handed their schedules.

'Oh look we have charms first' Evangeline said.

'Well I'm finished with breakfast. Shall we grab our things head down now?' Hermione asked.

The two nodded and stood. Filius smiled as they headed out the hall. The smile dropped when he turned back to Albus.

'I don't know what's going on here, but that child seems happy with his new name and putting pressure on him to accept his old name back looks like a lost cause'.

'Filius I need to speak to him' Albus said firmly.

'Then I hope you remember that calling a student up to your office on a non-school related matter means that they have the right to invite their parents or guardians' Filius said and walked off to hand out the rest of the schedules.

Albus stood fuming. He knew that if Harry didn't know that rule, Filius would be sure to tell him. Grumbling he stormed off to scheme.

OOO

Ebony and the girls grabbed their stuff and headed to the class. Evangeline then herded them into a secluded alcove, bringing out a small mirror.

'Did you get all that?' she asked quietly.

'Hey is that a two way mirror?' Hermione asked in fascination.

'Yep. Uncle Sirius gave us them. Daddy you remember Hermione?'

'Of course. And yes Angel, I heard everything' Julian replied.

'What do you think?' Ebony asked.

'I think I should pay a visit to Hogwarts and have a chat with your headmaster. He sounds like he's trying to get you back to the Dursleys' Julian replied.

'But he can't do that! Why would he want to send Ebony back to people who hate him?!' Hermione exclaimed.

Julian gave her a smile.

'Don't worry Miss Granger. My parents I will not allow Ebony to leave us. And I daresay Sirius and Remus would throw a fit if someone tried to get him to'.

Evangeline and Ebony laughed at that. Ebony explained to Hermione.

'They're really protective. I skinned my knee one time and Sirius was practically ready to rush me to hospital. I was too busy laughing at him to bother about my knee'.

Hermione giggled a bit, remembering the wild haired man from the station and picturing him rushing around in panic.

'Alright. I can see you three got into Ravenclaw, congratulations. Did Ron get into Gryffindor?' Julian asked.

'Yep. So did our other friend Neville' Evangeline replied.

'That's good to know. I'll talk to my parents Ebony, they'll probably want to come up as well. Be careful and know you can always talk to me whenever you want' Julian said.

There was a noise in the background and Julian sighed with a grin.

'I need to get going. I'm at an art gallery at the moment and there appears to be a bidding war over one of my paintings'.

'That's brilliant! We'll let you get back' Evangeline said and turned the mirror off.

'I guess he's a really good artist?' Hermione asked.

Evangeline and Ebony both nodded.

'He's one of the best I know. He doesn't put his real name on his artwork, just encase someone made the link to him and Ebony. Instead he goes by Aeito' Evangeline explained.

'Oh my gosh I know that name! He's like the most famous artist in Britain! My mum loves his work! I can't believe your brother's really Aeito!' Hermione gushed.

She then stopped in her tracks.

'Wait. You called him daddy. But he looks so young'.

Evangeline gave a soft smile.

'He's twenty one. See, when my daddy was a child someone hurt him and he got pregnant'.

'Pregnant?! Wait, hurt him! You don't mean…!' Hermione breathed in horror.

Evangeline nodded.

'Daddy and I have some creature blood mixed with our own. One of the types is what caused daddy to be able to get pregnant'.

'Oh. I'm sorry… I mean I…' Hermione stumbled over her words.

'It's ok Hermione. He's the best daddy in the world, even if he is young. And granny and grampa have always been there for him' Evangeline said.

Hermione chewed her bottom lip nervously.

'Do…do you know who your…um, father is?'

There was a brief haunted look in her friend's eyes.

'No. I say I don't care. But… See, there was more than one person that hurt my daddy. And some of them are well known. I just…'

Ebony hugged his sister and continued.

'The ones who hurt Julian were deatheaters Hermione. And Voldemort hurt him too. Evangeline wasn't tested when she was young, and refused to be when she got older. To know that a deatheater, or maybe even Voldemort himself could be her father…'

Hermione's eyes get very wide with horror. No wonder Evangeline looked haunted. No one would want to find out Voldemort was their father. Tearing up she went over and hugged her friend.

'I'm sorry Evangeline. Your dad's a very brave person. And you are too. What matters is that you're both good people'.

She felt a few tears land on her shoulder as Evangeline hugged her back. Ebony gave her a look of gratitude and she smiled softly. She might have promised Ebony that she would be the best friend she could. But that didn't mean she was going to ignore Evangeline.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

'There will be no foolish wand waving and silly incantations in this class. As such, I don't expect many of you to appreciate the subtle science and exact art that is potion making, however for those select few who possess the predisposition...I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses. I can tell you how to bottle fame, brew glory and even put a stopper, in death'.

Ebony, Evangeline and Hermione shared a look. That sounded a little over the top for a first year potions class. Nevertheless, they wrote down what professor Snape said. The man noticed this, and immediately rounded on Ebony.

'Then again, maybe some of you have come to Hogwarts in possession of abilities so formidable that you feel confident enough to not pay attention'.

Ebony looked up as professor Snape glared at him. He glanced at the girls, who were giving the man bewildered looks for trying to get Ebony into trouble for something as simple as writing down what he was saying. And for that matter, why wasn't he saying anything to them if he wasn't happy about it?

'Mr Potter, our new celebrity. Tell me what would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?'

Ebony sat there quietly. He knew the answer, but he wasn't about to respond when he was called by a different name. Professor Snape took his silence to mean he didn't know and continued.

'You don't know? Well let's try again Potter, where would you look if I told you to find a bezoar?'

Again Ebony didn't answer. Hermione's hand was twitching, as if she was dying to stick it in the air. But she knew her friend knew these answers, and why he wasn't answering, so kept herself under control. Evangeline had discreetly activated her mirror when professor Snape first started talking to her brother.

'And what is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?' the man then said, getting a little annoyed at the boy's lack of response.

When the boy didn't answer yet again he started to sneer.

'It would appear that fame is making you believe you are better than everyone else, Potter. Very much like your father'.

He noticed movement out the corner of his eye and barked at the girl.

'What is it?!'

Evangeline lowered her hand.

'Asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. You would find a bezoar in the stomach of a goat. And monkshood and wolfsbane are the same plant. My brother and I know this because our granny taught it to us. Ebony isn't answering you because you aren't calling him by his real name' she explained calmly.

Professor Snape glared at her.

'I did not ask you, girl! I remember the commotion at the sorting perfectly well, and I also know of Potter's disrespect towards our headmaster'.

He growled and crossed his arms.

'This charade has gone on long enough. Both of you have detention with me for a week for lying and disrespecting a teacher, as well as fifty points from Ravenclaw! And next time I ask you a question Potter, you will answer! Miss Meadow _you_ will keep your opinions to yourself!'

The siblings shared a look, then got to their feet and started packing their things away.

'Where are you going?!' professor Snape hissed.

'Chapter four paragraph nine of the rules of Hogwarts: If a professor deliberately attempts to antagonise or bully a student, said student has the right to leave and take the matter up with a higher authority' Ebony explained.

'We'll see you later Hermione' Evangeline called as they headed for the door.

Professor Snape could only watch in fury as the two left the classroom. How dare they! He stormed to the door, ready to haul them both back in and give them detention for the entire year, but both had already vanished from the corridor. To angry to figure out how, the man turned to the rest of the class.

'If anyone attempts to backtalk me they will find themselves expelled from Hogwarts! Now turn to page three hundred and forty six!'

OOO

Junior and Miracle paused as they reached the cool outdoor air. Miracle was growling to herself, she couldn't believe how much of a bully professor Snape was. Junior agreed with her, stamping his hooves in frustration.

'Calm down you two' came a call.

The two glanced towards the mirror Miracle had placed on the ground.

'You had the right to leave the class, you weren't breaking any rules. Well done Miracle for calling me' Julian soothed.

Heaving a sigh the panther turned back into a girl.

'I just can't believe _that_ was the man who was nice to you daddy. Are you sure he doesn't have a twin?'

Junior snorted and turned into Ebony.

'That's the last thing we need is two Snapes'.

Even Julian had to smile at that.

'Alright you two. I've already spoken with your grandparents and they've agreed we should all pay a visit to Hogwarts. I'll update them on your ten minutes of potion class as soon as I get home. Expect a visit in the next couple of days, keep out of trouble until then'.

The two nodded and Evangeline deactivated the mirror, putting it in her bag. She gave a frustrated smile to her brother.

'Maybe we should have gone to the same highschool as daddy'.

He snorted.

'Yeah. But then we might have never met Neville and Hermione'.

The two glanced up as a hoot came from the sky. Hedwig and Sapphire came down to comfort their humans. Ebony smiled and stroked his familiar's feathers while Evangeline hugged the Carbuncle. It was annoying, but he knew his presence in Hogwarts would cause problems. Especially with his new name. At least most of the teachers were nice. Ebony caught his sister's attention and nodded in the direction of the school. She sighed but followed him, the two making their way to find their head of house.

OOO

'I demand you expel them Albus! Arrogant selfish brats think they can walk into Hogwarts and parade around like they own it!'

The headmaster sighed. It had been three days since Harry arrived at Hogwarts, and so far he'd ignored each and every order Albus and Severus had given him. Neither the boy nor his "sister" showed up for their detention, or any others that Severus gave them. Nor had they been back to potion class since the first day. Albus had tried to tell them that they would fail their exam if they didn't attend, but the girl had responded that their grandmother had taught the two and they were quite capable of passing their potion exam. It was frustrating to say the least. Even Quirrell was having problems with the pair. They had taken one class with the man and decided to ignore him and work independently. Worse still a few other students had followed their lead and were doing the same. Albus hoped his Christmas gift of James' cloak will put Harry back under his control.

'Severus you know as well as I that Harry must stay at Hogwarts to fulfil his destiny'.

The younger man growled.

'Arrogant selfish brat just like his father! And that girl is no better, going around saying Potter is her brother. In it for the fame'.

Albus sighed and went to speak, when he was interrupted by his wards alerting him to visitors.

'We shall speak more on this later Severus' he said, waving the door open.

Grumbling the potions master stood and went to leave. He snarled when he recognised two of the visitors.

'Black! How you got out of Azkaban was anyone's guess!'

'I was going to say the same thing about you, Snape' Sirius growled back.

The two sized each other up, looking ready to attack at any second. Remus sighed and forcibly yanked his lover away, giving Sirius a stern look.

'We are here for the kids, not so you can act like a kid'.

'Lord Black. And Remus how good to see you both' Albus greeted warmly, wondering why they were here.

They greeted him and entered, allowing the rest of the visitors to come. These people Albus had never seen before, and he was curious as to what they wanted.

'My apologies for the disruption. My name is Jonathan Meadow and this is my wife Rose' the man said.

Albus couldn't believe his luck. He'd been looking for this man for years and now he finally had the opportunity to get Harry back with the Dursleys.

'Mr Meadow a pleasure to meet you. I have been looking for you for a while now. I assume you are here to talk about Harry? Please have a seat'.

He conjured some chairs, getting himself settled as they sat.

'Harry? I'm afraid we're not here to speak about someone called Harry. I received information that my grandchildren have been pressured and bullied by members of staff and we have come to know why' Jonathan replied.

Albus frowned to himself. So these people were going to continue this charade. Well, he could play this game as well.

'Now, now. The children are still settling in. It's nothing more than a big misunderstanding. Care for some tea?'

'No, thank you. From what I've been told, my grandchildren were verbally abused and given punishment for following the rules. I don't call that a misunderstanding' Rose said.

Anyone who thought this old lady to be helpless had another thing coming.

'We don't have to go as far as verbal abuse, do we?' Albus replied.

'My granddaughter told us that one of your professors was practically demanding her brother to respond to him, even though he wasn't calling my grandson by his name. Then when Evangeline explained why Ebony wasn't answering, this professor snapped at her and basically told her to mind her own business. He then called them liars, gave them detention and took points. And I dare not think about what he might have done had he been able to bring them back to class after they left' Rose followed.

'I have spoken with the professor in question. He asked the boy some questions to see if he had done some study work before coming to my class. I was told he was targeted because while the professor was speaking, he was ignoring the lesson and instead doodling. He refused to answer those simple questions. Your granddaughter then butted in, answering the questions without being asked, and tried to tell the professor that Mr Potter would ignore him until called by an entirely different name'.

'That is not what we heard, and we didn't raise our grandchildren to be liars. So you are telling me there is something wrong with someone being given a new name?' Jonathan asked.

Severus grumbled to himself.

'He is called Harry Potter. The entire wizarding nation knows this. Why you insist on making him believe otherwise is beyond me'.

'Perhaps because we adopted him. Perhaps because he didn't know his name when we first met him, and so we decided he could choose another. Perhaps because we knew the entire wizarding nation would demand his time had we chosen to keep his original name. We know who our grandson is. We also know of the tragic events that led to him being given a different name. Had circumstances been different he would have grown up as Harry Potter, but he would have done so with his parents by his side' Rose replied, a hint of steel in her voice.

Albus quickly jumped in.

'May I ask what the reason was for you adopting the boy? He had perfectly capable guardians looking after him'.

Rose was not about to let that stand.

'Those _perfectly capable guardians_ left Ebony in a cupboard! Those _perfectly capable guardians_ barely fed him, beat him, locked him outside to wander the streets while they had guests! Those _perfectly capable guardians_ were the reason he thought his name was Boy Freak! Don't you sit there all serenely and tell me those _people_ were capable guardians for my grandson. They aren't fit to raise a hamster, let alone a child!' she growled.

'Please, calm down. I'm sure the Dursleys were not that bad' Albus soothed.

'And how would you know? How many times since leaving our grandson on their doorstep did you check on him?' Jonathan countered.

Sirius and Remus sat in the corner, happily watching the chaos, confident that the Meadows had everything under control. At least they were, until Albus turned to them.

'Sirius, surely you wish for Harry to keep his name and live with family?'

'Harry can live wherever he wants. We're talking about Ebony right now' the man replied with a grin.

Sighing Remus continued.

'We may not have seen the Dursleys, but we've heard enough to know they aren't in any way suitable to raise Ebony. With the Meadows, he has a sister, grandparents, an older brother, and ourselves. Because of the Meadows, Sirius has been proven innocent, and I have been able to reunite with my remaining pack. Jonathan and Rose have made us feel welcomed and go out of their way to ensure we have as much contact with our cub as possible. Ebony is happy. Why are you so against this?'

Albus certainly couldn't say he wanted the boy meek and helpless.

'I just feel that he is better off with his family. There are protections on the Dursley home that would prevent any with ill intentions from getting in'.

'And you believe our home offers no such protections? Before you answer, I will say that I know all about those so called protections you speak of. Our home is warded to the max, anyone trying to get in with intention to harm will find themselves facing a nasty surprise. And should they by some miracle gain entrance, you can be sure they would not make it past the front hall' Jonathan replied.

He was interrupted by the entrance of professor Flitwick with Ebony and Evangeline.

'My apologies for the interruption headmaster. I was told you would be receiving guests and suggested Mr and Miss Meadow joined them'.

The little man clocked Sirius and Remus and gave the two a smile.

'Lord Black, Mr Lupin' he greeted.

The children were immediately fussed over by their family.

'Can't leave you alone for five minutes, can we pup?' Sirius grinned.

Ebony just stuck his tongue out at the man. Albus watched them interact, growing more and more worried. He needed the boy to be under his control, but this display of family love was a clear indication that it was going to be difficult to do so.

'Yes, thank you Filius. I'm sure you're a busy man and I wouldn't want to keep you' he said.

'However if you do have some time to stay, I would like to get to know my grandchildren's head of house. I am Jonathan Meadow and this is my wife Rose' Jonathan countered with a smile.

The little professor already found himself liking this man, and was happy to spare some time to stick around, much to the frustration of Albus.

'A pleasure to meet you. Your grandchildren are a joy to teach, always eager to learn new material. I've been hearing good things about them from the other professors as well. They already have many friends from the other houses and the only real complaint I have about them comes from professor Snape here'.

'Perhaps if they were less arrogant and rude then I would have no complaint against them' Severus spoke up.

Filius gave him a small glare, but continued.

'They are very polite children, you have raised them well. I will admit they have a slight fondness for pranks. Considering certain adults in their lives, I suppose I should have expected that'.

'Uncalled for!' Sirius exclaimed dramatically.

He prompted a few chuckles from the group.

'If we could possibly get back to the subject. As Harry's magical guardian, I insist the boy be taken back to his relatives. I shall have a word with them about their behaviour, and of course we'll have young Harry resorted. I'm sure he would be much happier in the house his parents were in' Albus said.

He was through with all this. These people would listen to him and obey.

Standing, and gently moving her granddaughter away, Rose stepped over to the large ornate desk, and the man sitting regally behind it.

'You would rather my grandchild return to monsters. You would rather he be beaten into submission. Forced to be a slave. To be under your complete control. And for what? So you can led him to his death!'

Albus tried to speak but was cut off.

'WHY did you condemn a man to Azkaban without a trial when you had the power to grant him one? Why do you allow prejudice to run rampant through the school when you have the power to stop it?'

'That is nothing more than childish…'

'AND WHY, pray tell, are you obsessing over the welfare of one child when you have let hundreds pass through those doors without a single passing glance?'

Albus was not used to being interrupted. Especially not by some old woman attempting to throw her weight around. He stood and glared at Rose.

'This happens to be my school and I will run it the way I see fit!'

He didn't get any further as Rose yet again cut in.

'The way you see fit is to allow those of pureblood to degrade and bully those they feel have tainted blood. The way you see fit is to ignore the safety of the children!'


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Severus growled at Black one last time before storming out the office, leaving the situation for Albus to sort out. Clearly the brat had told his mutt of a godfather some lies about being mistreated. He figured the elderly couple belonged to the girl. As he muttered to himself, robes billowing out behind him, he failed to see a shadowy figure watching him. Severus' first indication that something wasn't right, was when he was forcibly pulled into a classroom and heard the door lock behind him.

He drew his wand and peered round the room.

'Merlin help you if this is a prank' he hissed.

'Not a prank sir. Just a desire to speak with you' came the reply.

Severus wasn't sure where the voice was coming from. It sounded quite young but he didn't ease up the grip on his wand.

'Unusual way to get someone's attention' he remarked.

He heard a quiet chuckle.

'Yes, I suppose it is. But once you see me, you will agree it was required'.

'Then show yourself! I'm growing tired of this' Severus hissed.

He spotted a figure move out the corner of his eye and whirled on it, aiming his wand. Said wand slipped from his frozen fingers when he realised who it was. The figure quickly swooped down and caught it before it hit the ground, saving it from possible damage. Julian held it out to the older man.

'You…?! How…?! I thought…I thought you were dead…' Severus breathed.

The younger man smiled.

'I'm sure a lot of people did. It was better they did'.

Severus' hand twitched, itching to reach out and touch the younger man, to ensure he was actually there.

'What are you doing here?' he finally asked.

'I have a few reasons. The main one, is to ensure my brother Ebony, and my daughter Evangeline are being treated fairly in school'.

Severus was sure he'd heard wrong. Brother? Daughter?!

'Let me explain, please' Julian said, waving the older man to a seat.

Severus practically fell into it. The younger man proceeded to explain what had happened. From the moment he escaped from his cell, to now. Very little was left out. By the end, Severus didn't know what to say, didn't know what he could say.

'You escaped because of your daughter' he eventually whispered.

Julian nodded.

'She would have been killed. I thought I had no fight left in me. I was prepared to die in that cell, until she was born'.

'I…I didn't know… Did anyone know?' Severus asked quietly.

'No, not even I knew. Not until she was born' the younger man replied.

Severus stared at him in horror, the realisation finally sinking in.

'You gave birth to her?! How are you still alive?! That would have killed you! That should have killed you! Any male pregnancies need a potion to allow the child to be born!'

'I don't know. All I do know, is that I had the strength to run. As long as she was ok, it didn't matter about me' Julian replied with a soft smile.

Severus made a noise of distress, looking away.

'Mr Meadow…'

'Julian will be just fine' came the reply.

Sighing Severus continued.

'Julian. I wanted to get you out of that cell. I wanted so desperately to help. I just…'

'You were scared. You knew what would have happened had you tried' Julian finished.

He went over and put a hand on Severus' arm.

'It's ok. I've never blamed you, for anything. Another reason I came here was to tell you that'.

Severus took a moment to look at the younger man. Julian… It was a good name for him. It would appear that he'd been one of the rare lucky ones. He had a home, a family, a life. He looked happy.

'I am sorry, for what you went through. I'm glad you are ok'.

Julian smiled.

'Thank you. And now, I'd like to do something for you. But first, if I could get some information from you, about what's been going on at Hogwarts'.

OOO

When his visitors finally left, Albus felt like a little boy being scolded for stealing cookies. He didn't like it, but it didn't take him long to realise that the Meadows were not a family to be messed with. He was sure at one point that Rose was going to put him on a naughty stool. Getting Sirius and Remus on his side was also a no go. They now had their precious access to their pup, and they weren't giving that up without a fight.

Albus felt like taking a temper tantrum, he was so sure he would have Harry back in the Dursleys by the end of the year. Instead, he was being treated like a criminal. This would not stand.

He looked up as his wards told him Severus was outside his door. He called the man in, sighing at the thought of playing benevolent headmaster to a whiny potions professor. What he got instead was a nasty shock.

'I have been hearing some worrying things about you Albus. I feel it only fair that I warn you that your dealings are about to come back to haunt you. As a Slytherin, the best course of action I can take, is to take a step back, and distance myself from you. Thus I am here to hand in my resignation'.

'Resignation! Severus what are you doing?! Without me you would find yourself back in Azkaban, and you may not get the same help as before' Albus warned.

Severus stood tall and smirked. He rolled up his sleeve and proudly displayed his bare arm, curtsey of Demon. Now that was the biggest shock he'd had all day.

'Your help is not required headmaster, nor is it wanted. I admit I have been treating certain students unfairly of my own accord. But your persistence in allowing it to happen, to protect your secrets, has caused it to spiral out of control. I am not cut out to be a teacher, and I will not remain in a position that I hate, where students hate me, just so you can keep me under your control. I quit. That is the end of it. I will pack my things and be out of here by tomorrow. You had best start looking for a replacement potions professor'.

He turned and headed to the door. As he reached it he glanced back at the spluttering headmaster.

'You may also wish to look for a new defence professor'.

He spotted a shadow flying past the window, and smirked.

'And perhaps… a new headmaster as well'.

And with that he left. Julian had offered him sanctuary at the Meadow home until he could get back on his feet. He also offered help to rebuild the house at Spinner's End, and mentioned that his potions mistress mother could always use help with police cases. It was a chance to be his own master, how could he refuse.

Albus growled as the door closed behind the potions master. He was so angry he didn't even think to keep Severus locked in. How dare he! Albus had protected that man from Azkaban, he deserved some respect! As Severus' words sunk in he paled. What did the man mean by replacing Quirrell? Surely they didn't discover Voldemort already?! No! He had plans! Plans that needed Potter and Severus to stay exactly where they were. Harry was going back to the Dursleys, the Meadows were getting obliviated, and Severus was getting dragged back to his classes. Albus was not going to allow arrogant people to ruin everything he'd been building up.

OOO

Demon watched the fuming man from the window. It was amusing, he decided, to watch these humans play God. His magic hummed and he looked curiously around the room. There was something here belonging to a powerful entity. No, there was more than one. He pinpointed one item hidden in the old man's sleeve. The other one was in a desk drawer. Demon growled lowly. This mortal was not only playing God, he was playing Death as well.

' _Are you going to kill him?'_

Demon glanced towards the fire bird. Fawkes had of course noticed him the moment he set foot onto Hogwarts soil. This time though the Phoenix knew he was there to help, and let him pass without notice.

' _I should. He deserves nothing less'_ Demon replied, his voice projected into the Phoenix's mind as Fawkes had done to him.

Fawkes trilled sadly. He knew Albus had done so much good, but lately all he ever did was make things worse.

' _He has done wrong. But he was once a good man. I beg of you, let him life'._

Demon looked at the headmaster.

' _Warn him then Phoenix. I will allow him a chance to defend himself'._

Fawkes trilled and flashed into the room. Demon watched as the fire bird attempted to get the man's attention. He should kill him. But the man would be hailed a hero if he did. A better punishment, would be to let the man know how it felt to be weak and helpless. Demon smirked. Yes, that was a better idea. The Phoenix had done nothing to him, it would be unfair to punish him for something his bonded did.

'Blasted Phoenix! Can't you see I've got enough problems without you buzzing round my head!' Albus growled, batting the fire bird away.

Fawkes huffed and flew to sit beside the sorting hat.

' _Foolish man. I am trying to save your life!'_

'Don't bother, my old friend. He has been blinded by his greed' the sorting hat said.

Trilling sadly Fawkes nodded. Together they watched as the monstrous creature slinked into the room, using it's magic to silence the portraits who had begun to notice him.

'I will not watch this. Fawkes, come. We shall stay in Minerva's room' the sorting hat said, more to stop the fire bird from having to watch.

Giving one last trill, Fawkes nodded, and flashed away with the tattered hat.

Demon took a moment to examine the man. This was the leader of the light, the defender of the wizarding world. A pity no one would know just how dark the man really was.

The last thing Albus saw, was the shadow of a large black wing as it closed round him.

OOO

Severus found himself fitting in quite well with the group, which surprised him considering who some of the members were. He took up house in the Meadow home until his own was repaired. For a while he assisted the police alongside Rose, building a close friendship with her and Jonathan, and of course Julian. Then he decided to start his own potion making business. In just a few short years, it went from a few orders a week, to a booming business which brought him in a very stable income. It also helped that he had spoken to the Goblins about the Prince inheritance, and was able to claim it. For whatever reason, he suspected it was Julian, he was never again bothered by the ministry.

Without the grudge to keep him back, he found himself delighting in letting Ebony and Evangeline assist him. He could never figure out why, but having young Evangeline around him brought out a parental side he never knew he possessed. He supposed it was because the girl reminded him of his mother.

The group was also joined by Hermione and her parents, and Neville and his grandmother. When Julian heard about Neville's parents, Demon took a visit to St Mungo's to see what the damage was, and couldn't help but groan at the idiots that called themselves healers. This was too easy! Soon Alice and Frank were able to rejoin their family.

The children didn't question the disappearance of both the headmaster and the defence professor. Ebony and Hermione continued to grow close, becoming boyfriend and girlfriend by fourth year, and marrying a couple of years after graduation. Neville and Ginny were close behind them. Ron took a while, being somewhat self conscious about himself. But he had eventually caught the attention of Lavender Brown from his year. She was a bit of a girly girl, but no one could question the attraction between the two. Nor could anyone contest the attraction between Percy and Miss Clearwater. Bill had been joined at work by a French girl who was looking to better her experience and her language skills. There was an instant attraction, which thankfully went both ways, and it didn't take long for the lovely Miss Fleur to become Mrs Weasley.

A rather large surprise was the paring between Fred and Evangeline, and George and Luna. No one saw that one coming, though perhaps they should have expected it as the foursome did enjoy their prank wars. Nymphadora finally snagged her man not long after Ebony and Evangeline's fifth year. Julian wasn't entirely sure how it happened, and Demon was staying well out of it entirely, but slipping the ring onto the pink haired woman became one of the happiest days of his life

Professor Quirrell and Voldemort had been planning their move for Halloween when Demon had come a knocking. There was sadly nothing left of Quirrell to save, and Voldemort was sent straight to Death's embrace.

Albus was left a panting mess in his office, his wand and James' cloak taken from him. He was alive, but as he discovered, being alive meant very little when one had gone from powerful leader of the light, to squib in less than a minute. Minerva was the one to find him, and had him sent to St Mungo's due to his babbling about being attacked by a Demon. She could find no evidence to suggest such a thing, and could not imagine a Demon attacking only to turn the man into a squib and leave. She did discover the philosopher's stone, and had it returned to its rightful owner. The traps made to keep the stone protected were dismantled, and Fluffy was set loose in the farthest away part of the forbidden forest, more at the insistence of Hagrid who promised to take care of the pooch.

She took over the position of head of the school. When she discovered that Severus had left, and Quirrell was dead under mysterious circumstances, she took on the heavy responsibility of informing the staff and students. She also, a bit smugly, hired better, more competent teachers for the missing positions, as well as rearranging a few other positions she had been nagging Albus to do for a while. It took some time, but finally Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry truly did become the best school to send young witches and wizards.

And just to sound horribly cheesy, they all lived happily ever after.


End file.
